Page 1906 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 May 1991
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It is, Mr Speaker, an overly sensitive ruling that - as Mr Berry said, and as I remarked on a point of order - will make this place a laughing-stock. The community may take exception to words such as "liar", to words that are offensive or are regarded as swear words; but such mild, inoffensive and culturally important terms as "a furphy" must take their place in this parliament. We cannot be seen to be shrinking violets.
I would urge members of the Government, who I know can hold and take their place in vigorous and robust debate, to join with the Opposition on this motion of dissent. It is not a general motion of lack of confidence. It is a specific motion on a specific ruling - a ruling that we are all too weak and fearful in this chamber to tolerate the word "furphy" and that the people of Canberra are so sensitive that they would be horrified by the use of such a word in their chamber. You cannot, surely, agree with such a proposition. Let us be sensible about this. Let us preserve the importance of vigorous and robust debate in the Australian vernacular, where necessary, and carry dissent from this absurd ruling.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (12.02): Mr Speaker, in the adjournment debate yesterday I commented on what an eloquent speaker Mr Connolly has been, and is, and I can only once again comment and say that I am pleased to hear that off the cuff address today. It reinforces what an eloquent speaker he is. His arguments are unassailable. The word "furphy" in no way imputes that someone is a liar, or a backslider, or anything like that. I support the arguments of Mr Connolly.
MR COLLAERY (Deputy Chief Minister) (12.02): Mr Speaker, I have been looking through the experiences of other Speakers. Not all Speakers have had an easy passage in their parliamentary careers. Some, like Speaker Cope during the Whitlam era, had a particularly difficult time. Whatever our views about your rulings, Mr Speaker, no-one would disagree with the fact that you have a particularly difficult chamber to manage.
Mr Speaker, I think your ruling on "furphy" was probably prompted - if I may say so, with respect - by the circumstances of the chamber at the time and your desire to bring some order to debate. It is the view of this side of this house that Mr Berry is constantly disrupting the order of business of the Assembly. It is our view that he treats this chamber more like some sort of workers assembly than a parliamentary gathering. Whilst all of us can enjoy the vernacular and the tricks of the trade, the taxpayers out there expect us to get on with the business. I would say that, probably without exception, anyone sitting in the gallery now would expect us to be passing Bills and not pursuing this debate.
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