Page 5097 - Week 16 - Wednesday, 27 November 1991
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fairly modern two-volume World Book Dictionary that is excellent. I was very happy when our ACT Assembly Library purchased a full set of the Oxford English Dictionary at a cost of some $1,400. It provides a marvellous opportunity to find the definition of any word you would ever want to find.
It is not that I disagree with words becoming living things; I have already said that. What I said is that I do not think they should be changed for ideological purposes. The definition of "discrimination" has taken on a negative flavour, and I think that is unfortunate. Mr Moore said that, if it was 1943 I was operating in, I would have been at war. I can assure him that I would not have been at war; I would have been in Switzerland, where they had not any wars for 100-odd years up to that time because they have citizen-initiated referenda. They have some rights there.
MR SPEAKER: Relevance, please, Mr Stevenson.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Berry has asked me to repeat what I mentioned earlier about why I speak. I will make the point again, as Mr Berry may have been out of the room when I said it a little while ago.
Mr Berry: "I will block this legislation if I can", he said.
MR STEVENSON: I am with you if you are going to block the legislation, make no mistake. Let me say that this legislation is not okay; it is destructive of people's rights. Indeed, I would do whatever is within the bounds of what we can do in this Assembly to block it. Make no mistake whatsoever about that. Mr Berry, you are looking the other way. Do you have any doubt whatsoever that I would do what I can to bring it to the attention of members in this Assembly that this legislation is not okay and that we should all block it? The fact that it has been agreed to in principle is not the point. I will stand here and present as many points as I can to do with why we should block, stop, vote against, get rid of, dump, file in the wastepaper basket, adjourn until 1999 or anything else - whatever I can.
Mr Humphries: Are you opposed to this, Dennis?
MR STEVENSON: Mr Humphries asks whether I am opposed to it. Well said.
Motion (by Mr Berry) agreed to:
That the question be now put.
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