Page 1696 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 30 April 1991
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Assembly - could be struck down with an illness or injured in a car accident and be out of commission. So, really, this is just an absolutely commonsense piece of legislation.
While I am on my feet, and rather than rise under standing order 46 later, let me say that Mr Berry's drivel when he kept harping on the anti-discrimination Bill is absolute sophistry. I think I have probably said a couple of things about anti-discrimination. The Attorney-General is bringing that Bill on anyway, and it really does not behove someone from the Labor Left to talk about anti-discrimination; they are notorious for their selective discrimination. One need only look at some of the speeches that Mr Berry has made. He has harped on problems around the world, but it is always very selective. It is always Chile, South Africa or other right wing regimes. He has never said anything about a dictatorial left wing regime. So I think that when he starts talking about anti-discrimination it is just so much claptrap.
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (8.47): Mr Speaker, Mr Berry, of course, is doing what he did during the last sittings. He wants to stretch our time out so that we do not get our Bill program through. But he is putting on the record things that should be answered. He has made a personal attack on me and Craig Duby. I am sure Mr Duby will answer for himself. But I attend six or seven ministerial meetings. There is another one which I have forgotten. I attend the meetings of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General, the Standing Committee of Consumer Affairs Ministers, the corrective services one, the welfare one, the housing one and the Sport and Recreation Ministers Council. There is one other one in my portfolios which I cannot for the moment recall.
Mrs Nolan: Racing.
MR COLLAERY: Yes, the sport and racing one. The Standing Committee of Attorneys-General meets quarterly, and it meets because of a heavy and constant demand in this country for the resolution, jointly, of important societal issues that the system of justice affects. The consumer affairs portfolio is very taxing, as we have learnt today, and I have attended and chaired those meetings. That involves important issues of uniform legislation in trade measurement, credit issues and many other matters.
With regard to corrective services, I do not think I have to say more than that it is necessary that we attend those meetings. Whether we have things to contribute or not, we certainly have things to learn at meetings. The welfare meetings I attend are regularly scheduled and they deal with issues such as adoption and surrogacy and matters of that nature. The housing meetings I attend are matters of great interest to bodies such as ACTCOSS. We deal with the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement. They are vitally important meetings that affect the interests of our 12,000
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