Page 5447 - Week 17 - Tuesday, 3 December 1991
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MR SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.
Mr Kaine: I am speaking to his statement and I do resent his continued insinuation.
MR SPEAKER: All right; well, please speak to that.
MR COLLAERY: Mr Speaker, we hear Mr Kaine often referring to disruptive elements of the Rally. He was happy to rely upon them when he wanted government, and, Mr Speaker - - -
Ms Follett: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. Does Mr Collaery have leave to speak?
MR SPEAKER: Mr Collaery is addressing the question before the house, Ms Follett.
MR COLLAERY: Thank you. I note that the Chief Minister stands to defend the Liberal leader. The fact is that, with none of his own party members in the chamber, who may not have heard the arguments for why we believe that there should be a planning advisory committee, Mr Kaine assumes that the idea of a committee will not be supported. Perhaps there is now a Liberal caucus to reflect the Labor caucus. Be that as it may, it is somewhat of an affront to be told in this Assembly, that we believe contains people who are willing to listen and who are open to argument, that we are going to lose an argument down the track before it has even been enunciated by my colleague Mr Jensen.
I simply want to put that matter on the record. We now know what the vote will be. We will call for a division on this and that may shorten the end time, but it seems a peremptory party machine way of pressing a matter and obscuring meaningful debate in this chamber.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (6.20): Mr Collaery has obviously debated this matter within his party machine and come to a conclusion. He believes that this clause should be incorporated into the Bill. I have gone through the democratic process of a discussion with my party members and we have decided that we do not want it in the Bill. That is a position that I am entitled to adopt, as party leader, and I resent being told that this is a party machine. He has gone through the same processes, I submit, as I have, to arrive at his position.
If we are going to talk about party machines, we had better start talking about the party machine of the Residents Rally that is attempting to bludgeon through the Assembly an amendment that nobody else in the Assembly wants. I foreshadowed that Mr Jensen's motion would fail. We will just have to put it to the vote and see whether my prediction is correct.
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