Page 4138 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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prepared and gave to me some days ago would provide, in my case, an increase in salaries of some $4,000 or $5,000 over a full year. I think, like all of us, that that would be very easy to use. I could use it most effectively.
I know that in the Federal Parliament, for example, Independent members are allocated an extra staff member because of the need to read so much legislation which, in parties, gets divided among the people who have the responsibility. I think that there is some argument that would apply right across this Assembly. Even where you have a party of three or four people there is a tremendous amount of legislation that any individual member has to read and to be across, compared with what is read and dealt with in the Federal Parliament. Our duties are different, and perhaps our staffing should be different as well; but at this stage I think it is not appropriate to increase staff or to redistribute staff.
MRS NOLAN (11.47): Mr Speaker, I think it is an appropriate time to quote an old Chinese proverb I read in the paper this morning. It was quoted in the paper by, I think, the Deputy Premier of Western Australia. The proverb is, "He who never changes his opinion never corrects his mistakes". I think that is a fairly appropriate proverb in relation to this discussion today.
While I agree with much of what Mr Collaery has had to say, there are some anomalies in relation to the staffing for non-government members. I do not think this is the appropriate forum for that to be discussed and debated, and I will not be supporting the legislation that is currently before the house.
MR STEFANIAK (11.48): Just briefly, Mr Speaker, I am interested to hear what members have to say. There is much in what my colleague Mr Humphries, and indeed, surprisingly, someone we do not agree with very often, Mr Moore, have had to say. As some members have said, one does have to look at the circumstances of this Bill. I think Mr Moore indicated that this might have been more relevant if it had come up earlier in the piece - perhaps, indeed, when Mr Collaery was the Deputy Chief Minister. But we are 3 months out from an election. The Assembly will stop sitting on 17 December and I really wonder whether this is the way to go.
There is a convention in Australian parliaments - the Westminster system - and, like it or not, we are part of the Westminster system. There is a defined government, there is a defined opposition, and certain things flow from that. I cannot see that changing greatly in the years to come in Assembly politics in Canberra, or, indeed, throughout Australia.
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