Page 4709 - Week 15 - Thursday, 21 November 1991
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MR WOOD (Minister for Education and the Arts and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (5.25): Mr Speaker, the Government opposes this amendment. I think it is still clearly the case that the Government could not meet that deadline. There were enormous difficulties some months ago, it was pointed out to me, in meeting the deadline had we established a 1 January start date. The reason the Government proposed a 1 July start date was so that everything could be ready for that time.
Mr Kaine: It was because you did not have any money in your budget, Bill. Come clean.
MR WOOD: No. I will concede that there was a side factor; but the predominant factor was simply that we did not think it could be done. There is a great amount of work to be done, as you would imagine.
Mr Kaine: Your professional public servants are capable of small miracles. We all know that.
MR WOOD: I realise that. But the major miracle that you are talking about is a little more difficult. As you would expect, it is the case that when we announced that it would commence from 1 July the intense pressure went off the department. All of that activity that was designed to have things ready for 1 January steadied quite a deal. If you now impose this on us - we had notice only yesterday that it might occur - every activity of the department will have to be intensely accelerated. I think that it is simply too much to ask to advance that date from 1 July. I do not believe that it can be done.
Mr Kaine: You want to be careful, Bill, because Norm is going to move for 1 January if you are not careful.
Mr Jensen: Will you pass my Bill, Bill?
MR WOOD: Well, you are asking too much. Let me point out that the new Assembly will not be meeting in February. It probably will have a first formal meeting at the very end of February, although the count will probably take us through - - -
Mr Kaine: You are an optimist.
Mr Humphries: About the end of April is more likely.
MR WOOD: Let me concede; I have my months mixed up.
Mr Kaine: You cannot put this Bill into effect until July, but you expect the Electoral Commission to fix it in a month.
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