Page 5842 - Week 18 - Tuesday, 10 December 1991
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I am sure she would much prefer to have the Government elect someone whose hands are not full and who can devote the appropriate time to representing both present and former members' interests on this board.
As I said, I believe that a further amendment is in the process of being drawn up, and I am under riding instructions to keep talking until such time as it is.
Dr Kinloch: That is known as a "Dubybuster".
MR DUBY: My name is not "Fili". I do not support these amendments.
MR HUMPHRIES (9.38): I support Mr Stefaniak's amendments because I consider them to be a traditional provision which appears in similar legislation around the country. In similar schemes in New South Wales or Victoria - I do not recall the details of the schemes in those States, so I cannot say whether it is or is not the case - my understanding is that there are superannuation boards consisting of members of parliament and the traditional formula is more or less as appears in the amendments moved by Mr Stefaniak. There is the Speaker, the head of government - whatever that position might be called - the Leader of the Opposition and, in certain circumstances, their nominees.
The amendments provide for a model which is used elsewhere and they recognise the role those two people play in the functioning of this parliament. I know that we do not want to go back over the arguments about whether we should have a Leader of the Opposition or not. The fact of life is that we have accepted, at least by majority vote in this Assembly, that we should have such a position. We certainly have the imposition of a Chief Minister by statutory force of the Commonwealth, and we have accepted by majority vote of this Assembly that we have a Leader of the Opposition.
The role of the Leader of the Opposition is as the chief antagonist, the chief person representing those who are not the government, the person who principally opposes the government, the person who represents those on the other side of the chamber. I have said in the past that there are sometimes people on the crossbenches; no-one quite admits to being on the crossbenches in this place. The fact is that we have a person who represents the Government, and that is the Chief Minister. We have a person who represents the Opposition, and that is the Leader of the Opposition. It seems to me appropriate that we have positions of that kind represented on this board.
I do not accept that we should be electing alternates. I think an alternate assumes that a particular person is available to fulfil a particular role. It may be the case that at some time that alternate is the person whose application is being made to the board, in which case you
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