Page 2258 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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It goes on to talk about the salary differences between the Leader of the Opposition and other members. It then says:
His responsibility is not equal to that of the Prime Minister but it is a responsibility to his Party, to the country which he informs and which he aspires to lead. His entertainment expenses ...
That is not relevant in this situation either. It goes on to say:
An effective Opposition is essential for the proper functioning of a democracy. Its Leader has possibly the most difficult job in the Parliament. A Minister must, of course, be thoroughly conversant with the details of Bills or other matters which affect his own department, but the advice and resources of the departmental staff are constantly at his call. The Leader of the Opposition has to make himself master of all the business which comes before the House ...; he has to do this at times at short notice and under constant pressure; and he gets no help from permanent officials. At all times he is the spokesman for those who are critical of or opposed to the Government, and he must be unceasingly vigilant and active. He and the Prime Minister should be the most powerful agents in guiding and forming public opinion on issues of policy.
Mr Speaker, that position, that role, is no less important in this Assembly than it is anywhere else. It is a matter of grave regret to me and to my party, and I suspect to others in this place, that this shabby deal has been done here today on the floor of the Assembly, which results in that important position being lost to the people of the ACT.
An Opposition Leader is not part of the trimmings and the trappings of an assembly, or any parliament for that matter, merely for the sake of giving somebody else additional salary and additional staff. It is part of the process of keeping a government on its toes, keeping a government under proper scrutiny. To abolish that position, I think, Mr Speaker, is another damning nail in the coffin of this particular Assembly.
I remind members, Mr Speaker, that an opinion poll was published only a few weeks ago and the person who has been elected Opposition Leader received a minute proportion of the support of the citizens of the ACT. My party, the Liberal Party, received 30 per cent of the support of those people in that opinion poll. It is a travesty of this Assembly that a person with such an appalling amount of support, a person who may well not be elected to this
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