Page 5495 - Week 17 - Wednesday, 4 December 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
other attempted reforms. This has now pushed our reform Bills down again. It is now a quarter to twelve on private members' business day, and prostitution has scooped the pool again. The fact is that it is starting to antagonise us.
I say to Mr Moore: You know what we want. Get the amendments drawn by our competent drafting office. Ask Mr Connolly whether he will be good enough to let you have the advice of his law officers, as he does occasionally for the Rally, and bring forward the necessary amendments. We are not going to vote today to set up operators and managers of brothels without the occupational health and safety provisions and the whole range of other issues that have been dealt with by the New South Wales study. That is the long and short of the issue. There is no gamesmanship in it.
I am not going to rise to the bait of the attack on the Rally. We will support Mr Moore if he brings forward a Bill that meets the parameters we seek. That includes Mr Moore getting the agreement of the Government not to plead section 65, and to bring in a provision for rehabilitation and counselling services of the nature that the Victorian collective is now getting together for itself, on some government grant they have got. As Mr Moore knows, the community development worker for the Prostitutes Collective of Victoria in St Kilda could be a model.
Bring forward a completed Bill; it is as simple as that. Do what we did with the marijuana issue. I share Mr Moore's concerns about the slow pace of reform on a couple of those issues. It is just unfortunate that he wants to pick a fight with us. Why should we complete the work he set out to do? He wants the credit for this reform. He should complete the reform. Give up on the Labor Party.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (11.44): I must say that I find Mr Collaery's position a rather curious one. He seems to be saying, "Since this is not my legislation and it does not meet my criteria, I will not support it".
Mr Collaery: That is what the parliament is for.
MR KAINE: There are others in this parliament who find that the legislation does meet their criteria. Your legislation, which is on the private members' business schedule and is behind this one chronologically, ought not to jump it and take precedence. I have to say that to Mr Collaery. Something is not bad legislation just because it does not appeal to you. I am not swayed by your logic that, simply because you do not agree with the Bill Mr Moore puts forward, it shall not proceed. It is not logical, it is not an acceptable argument, and it is an argument - - -
Mr Collaery: But he needs our votes.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .