Page 2649 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 13 August 1991
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The legislation program has been grouped under three categories of priority. The first priority category describes those legislation proposals which have been accorded the highest priority for drafting by the Government. The Government intends to introduce as many Bills classified as first priority as possible before the conclusion of the budget sittings. In relation to legislation falling into the second and third categories of priority, some will be introduced into the Assembly during the current sittings because of ease of drafting or because, for other reasons, substantial progress has already been made.
Mr Speaker, I present the Labor Government's legislation program for the 1991 budget sittings and trust that members and the public find the document to be informative and helpful. I move:
That the Assembly takes note of the paper.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (3.17): Mr Berry's motion will facilitate the matter, Mr Speaker. I would have sought leave to make a statement on the matter anyway, whether he moved that motion or not. I am most gratified, as the former Chief Minister and Treasurer, to see the Alliance Government legislation program being put into effect by the Labor Government. When one reads through this document one is struck not only by the similarity of the program but also by the similarity of its breakdown between first, second and third priorities. It is incredibly similar to the one which the Alliance Government was working to and which the Minister claims we did not have. But, since this is virtually a duplicate of it, it is a bit hard for him to really sustain his proposition that we did not have a program.
Mr Berry: You have a better memory than I remember you having, Trevor. You remember the detail of it.
MR KAINE: My memory is very good, Minister. In my own portfolio, for example, the Gas Bill rings a bell. The same goes for amendments to the Audit Act, amendment to the Cooperative Societies Act, amendment to the Gaming Machines Act, amendment to the Stamp Duties and Taxes Act, amendments to the Taxation (Administration) Act, the Liquor Tax (Assessment) Bill and so on. This is just the first half dozen items on your program. They were all in my legislative program. But, as I said, I am very pleased to see that the Labor Government has recognised that there was essential legislation which we had set in train and which it is pursuing.
Indeed, on that point, I note that last week the Government introduced eight Bills, all of which were on the books in the hands of the Alliance Government before we lost government. I see that they are now proposing to produce another eight later this week. I am sure that when they
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