Page 2377 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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MR STEFANIAK: Yes, I do.
MR SPEAKER: Just give a notice in writing, please, Mr Stefaniak.
ADJOURNMENT
Motion (by Mr Berry) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Labor and Liberal Parties
MR STEVENSON (9.40): Bob Hawke, before the 1989 election, said that he saw no problem with the Labor and Liberal parties joining together. This is obviously something that I wanted to mention during the earlier farcical situation when the rules were being changed by those two parties to make sure that the power remained within the Labor and Liberal parties. What Mr Humphries is suggesting is that he represents the rest of us, or some of the rest of us, or, when he said, "It does not represent everybody", perhaps none of us. I am not sure which. However, the notion of a position of Leader of the Opposition is that it represents those people who do not have control of the government.
Mrs Nolan: Rosemary did not represent you before, Dennis.
MR STEVENSON: I have said that often enough. I think it would be good to look at whether or not the leader of the Liberal Party is in a position to represent other Independents or groups in this Assembly. We well know that in the Labor Party, when they have a vote, they so mistrust the people in their party that they look, physically, at the way they voted. Indeed, Rosemary Follett, earlier today, said that her Government - there is really no such thing but we will leave that aside for a moment - will not be one of division. I do not think there is anybody in this area who would suggest that the Labor Party, within its own party, is not the most divisive organisation in our land. We do know that they do not trust their members.
However, we have a situation in this Assembly today that may be a first for the Liberal Party in Australia. This could well be the first time that the Liberal leader - I presume that it was the Liberal leader, Gary Humphries - perhaps trusted other members of the Liberal Party so little that he took the unprecedented step - - -
Mrs Nolan: That is not true.
MR STEVENSON: Not true?
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