Page 4910 - Week 16 - Tuesday, 26 November 1991
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Mr Stevenson: I thought it reasonable under the circumstance that Mrs Nolan had called out something and it was not until I replied that you mentioned something.
MADAM TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Stevenson, would you withdraw it, please?
Mr Stevenson: Indeed I would.
(Quorum formed)
MR JENSEN: I am not troubled by the fact that I have lost a little bit of time, because I was not planning to speak for the full time allowed anyway. I certainly recall the early days of the Assembly. Mr Connolly, of course, was not present in those days, so I do not think it is appropriate for him to comment, if he was thinking about it. As I recall, there was an attendant on the first floor.
Mr Connolly: I was thinking about it, I confess, Mr Jensen.
MR JENSEN: Good. There was an attendant on the first floor whose main duties, as I seem to recall, were to provide assistance for members of the public seeking to make contact with members of the non-Executive part of the ACT Assembly in those early days. I seem to recall that there was an incident on the fifth floor that caused some consternation. Soon after that incident, our friend from the first floor found himself redirected to the fifth floor to provide the sort of access control that my colleague Mr Stevenson was referring to. I think that is enough said. I think Ms Follett, when she digs deep down into her memory, will probably recall that.
We could probably argue about the appropriateness of the building in which we are housed. My colleague Mr Collaery has already indicated that we are currently housed in a building for which we are paying $300 a square metre. I seem to recall also that one of the magnanimous promises, or at least half promises, made by the Prime Minister of Australia when self-government was granted to the ACT was that we would be provided with some funds for an appropriate Assembly building. I believe that the Federal Government did that for the Northern Territory, and I think it is probably quite appropriate for us. In fact, anyone who has travelled around Australia and seen some of the magnificent edifices that shire councils have knows that this building pales into insignificance by comparison.
Mrs Nolan: We do not want them.
MR JENSEN: I am not saying that we do. I am just saying that they are better housed than we are. The issue really is the appropriateness of this building. I would have thought it quite possible for this Labor Government to extract the funds that it was proposed be given to the
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