Page 3473 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 18 September 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am very concerned to see a further endorsement of the Premiers communique of 30 July. This is what Mr Berry's statement indicates: It is part of the general retreat by the national Australian Labor Party from social justice in our country. It says to communities isolated out in the never-never of our country, "Well, you are subject to your Treasury in Treasury Place, or wherever it is, in Melbourne, Brisbane or Perth". That is not correct. We have a comfortable, responsive situation in the Territory, with a high degree of public surveillance over Executive acts and public service decision making, but that does not apply in other States.
Federalism in some areas is fundamentally wrong. It will hand over social justice responsibility to ill-prepared, ill-equipped governments in States which have not to date shown a record in it. You do not judge the delivery of social justice in Queensland just by the government that was in power, like Bjelke-Petersen's; you judge it also by the culture of its bureaucracy and the culture of its local government responsiveness. The fact is that that culture has not developed in Queensland to date, even though they are recruiting - - -
Mr Connolly: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I take the same point of order that you took while I was answering a question. It is the point of order about relevance. We are getting an interesting rendition of Mr Collaery's views of the ills of the Queensland Government. I wonder whether he might be directed, in accordance with your earlier point of order, to direct his remarks to the relevant issue.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Connolly, thank you for your observation. We are not talking about answers to questions. Mr Collaery, I believe, is addressing an issue which has been raised in the Minister's statement. I believe that he is quite entitled to do so, and I will allow him to continue.
Mr Connolly: I take a point of order. Relevance to the matter of debate is the ACT's strategy. It may be that you are party colleagues, but I would have thought that you could direct him to relevance. He is giving us a rendition on his perceived ills of Queensland. It is quite irrelevant.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Connolly, as I recall the ministerial statement, it referred to a joint meeting of Health and Social Welfare Ministers from around Australia. I do not think there is any problem with Mr Collaery addressing those issues as they relate to those factors. Please proceed, Mr Collaery.
Mr Connolly: I thought you might say that. We can agree to disagree.
MR COLLAERY: Thank you, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. The statement also said that Ministers agreed - - -
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .