Page 3406 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 September 1991
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Legislation Program
MR BERRY (Deputy Chief Minister) (6.00), in reply: Mr Speaker, I rise to put on record some concerns of the Government about the way that the legislation program of the Government has been interfered with this day. Other members have known for some time that this legislation would be coming on. It is well known to be important legislation which has wide support. The Government intended to bring this legislation on and was prepared to tolerate a debate at the in-principle stage of those pieces of legislation which are listed.
Mr Speaker, about an hour before the legislation was due to be debated, Mr Collaery informed me that he would not be supporting the in-principle debate. I have since been informed that there are some concerns about details of the legislation - details which, I suggest, ought to have been dealt with in the detail stage of the debate. We ought to have got through the in-principle stage.
Now that this matter has been made an issue of public record, I fear that there will be some arguments about the in-principle stage to justify the position that some people have taken in this place.
This is an issue of great importance to the community. It was identified, I think in 1989, by the Law Reform Commission as an important issue for the community and I do not think it does members of this house any good to walk away from early debate of this sort of legislation.
Mr Speaker, the Liberals opposite have taken the view that they have not had time to consider the matter at length. I wish they had told us that when they made up their mind about the issue at around lunchtime, so that we could have brought on replacement legislation at short notice. The Residents Rally's position, of course, was unclear until we came to the house, which makes it impossible for the Government to responsibly bring forward other pieces of legislation for debate.
There are significant pieces of legislation to be dealt with. Some are mere machinery matters, it is admitted; but they are on issues about which due notice ought be given to the opposition members before they are brought on. It would not have been responsible for the Government to have brought on those items of legislation for debate this evening. I apologise to the attendants of the Assembly and to you, Mr Speaker, for the disruption that this has caused. It was, indeed, something done without notice.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Assembly adjourned at 6.04 pm
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