Page 1937 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 May 1991
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Mr Moore: You recognised a problem in December, for heaven's sake.
MR KAINE: There is no problem. The only problem is that members of the Opposition refuse to earn their money; they refuse to front up and do the business of this house, and they do it on spurious grounds. If Mr Moore can demonstrate that there is anything of an illegal or improper nature about the way members of this committee were elected by this house or the committee elected its chairman, let him put it on the table. There was nothing improper, illegal or out of order about the process. It is up to you lot to get your act together, do what you are paid to do, get on with the business of this Assembly and represent the constituency that you talk about, Mr Moore. You talk about representing your constituency, but you refuse to do it. When it comes to a matter such as this, which is one of major importance, you abstain. Then you come in here and complain that the game is crooked. The only reason the game is crooked is that you people will not participate. Get your act together, attend the committee meetings, do what you are paid for, represent your community, and then the game is over. Get yourself out of the sandpit; that is my advice. Do not throw stones at the members on this side of the house - - -
Mr Moore: You are pathetic. Stop misleading the house.
MR KAINE: They are doing their best in the interests of this community.
Mr Duby: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker: I clearly heard Mr Moore - - -
Mr Moore: I unreservedly withdraw that, Mr Deputy Speaker.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Moore.
MR CONNOLLY (3.28): Mr Deputy Speaker, when the Chief Minister got to his feet and said that Mr Moore was right, I hoped that we would get some sanity from the government benches, but unfortunately that was not the case. Mr Moore put very well the case against the Government on this issue, as he has done repeatedly in the past. The tragedy is that there is this unbending, blinkered approach from the government benches; they refuse to look at compromise and go along the sensible course.
We have said previously, and we will say it again to put it on the record so that there is no question about our motives here, that this is not a personal go at Mr Jensen. This is not suggesting that Mr Jensen is acting in any way improperly personally. It is a question of principle. The Chief Minister said in his tirade that, if the Opposition could point to anything illegal or improper in the workings of the committee, he would look at it. We have done that, in effect. In our dissent, which repeatedly appears, we
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