Page 2148 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 May 1991
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What do the people want? One of the things that we have surveyed is that they want representation. They want members of parliament to represent the majority expressed will of the people. They do not want members of parties to be dictated to by the party or by the Alliance. They feel that elected members, if they have to have any in any parliament, should do the will of the people. And so do I.
The idea of the will of the people, citizens referenda, was one that was held by the Labor Party. It was agreed to by the Federal Liberal Party a couple of years back. It was a major objective of the Labor Party, but it was disregarded in 1963. Since then the Labor Party members in Australia do not represent the majority expressed will of the people. They represent the majority expressed will of the controllers of the Labor Party. Unfortunately, the same thing can be said of the Liberal Party. It is only with the election to parliaments in Australia of members who indicate that they represent and will follow the majority expressed will of the people who hire and pay them that we will get any sanity whatsoever back into parliament.
The idea that there should be a government in the ACT, first of all controlled by the Labor Party and then controlled by the Liberal Party and the ex-No Self Government members and the Residents Rally, is an abhorrence. In any parliament it should be the duty, and it is the duty and obligation, of any member to look at the issue and represent the people, not the party.
What should happen in Canberra? Obviously the people know what should happen. Seventy-five per cent of them think the Legislative Assembly should be abolished. That is what should happen to self-government. The Alliance Government should be abolished. It looks like it is just about to be. The Labor Government, if there were one, should also be abolished. What should happen is that this Assembly should be upgraded to a municipal council. That would make the people happy. We need an upgrade of this Assembly. It should be a municipal council. You could get rid of all the cars, you could get rid of a lot of the consultants, and you could get rid of a lot of the trips.
Mr Berry: We could have the Abolish Dennis Stevenson Party.
MR STEVENSON: You could, indeed, get rid of me. I would suggest that what the recent poll in the Canberra Times shows - provided it is legitimate - is that we are a bunch of mediocrities. I agree with it entirely. The Canberra people should get rid of the lot of us, and the sooner the better.
MR STEFANIAK (11.47): Mr Speaker, I suppose there was a certain inevitability in something like this happening. I am not going to go over the issues in relation to the sacking of Mr Collaery and the remaining Residents Rally members of the Alliance Government. Suffice to say that that has occurred.
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