Page 2264 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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But, once again, the people of the ACT were given no thought in the various chats that have been going on in this Assembly for some time. They are never given the slightest thought whatsoever. It is purely a political decision, and it is mainly between the two parties - the Liberal Party and the ALP - for they feel that they are supposedly born to rule. They are the people who have the throne between them.
Let us look at the statement that Mr Humphries made. He talked about the Opposition Leader and said that he has a responsibility to his party, and a very interesting point he made as well: Responsibility not to the people of his electorate, not to the people of the members who are supposedly in opposition, but to his party. Indeed, when he said it, it was quite true. He does have a responsibility to his party. But that excludes other people. It excludes minority parties and it excludes Independents, and this is proven again and again.
There has only ever been one occasion in the life of this Assembly when the Opposition met as a group, be it an opposition supposedly led by Rosemary Follett or an opposition supposedly led by Trevor Kaine. Prior to the first no-confidence motion in the Labor Government there was a meeting between all 12 non-Labor people in this Assembly. That is the only one there has ever been. Any suggestion by any member of the Liberal Party or any member of the Labor Party that there was a workable opposition in this place is truly a farce, and the people know it.
At that meeting there were two agreements made. I made one of them and kept it. The other was not kept. So, even the result of that historic single meeting - the only time when all 12 so-called non-government people met - was not too good on behalf of the people of the ACT. Needless to say, the agreement that I made was on behalf not of myself but of the people of the ACT.
We know full well that in this Assembly there was no provision for a Leader of the Opposition. Mr Humphries mentioned that this position is essential for the proper functioning of parliament. That is not true. The Leader of the Opposition position was essential for the proper functioning of two-party machine control of decisions made that affect all people in Canberra. Everybody here knows it, though we know full well that the truth will not be told by those people who are involved in two-party machine control. The proof has just been given.
Perhaps we should remember that in the Constitution of Australia the word "party" was never mentioned. It should not surprise most people that an elected representative of an electorate should represent his electorate, not some clique in a party group and not some majority party, major party coalition or anything else. He should legally, morally and constitutionally represent the majority expressed will of the people, and we have not seen that.
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