Page 182 - Week 01 - Thursday, 9 April 1992
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She happens to be in disaccord with her Federal colleagues on that point. What a load of bulls-bully, Madam Speaker, if you will pardon the expression. I would suggest to Ms Sheehan that she has misunderstood Liberal Party policy or is trying to protect the vested interests of her members, whatever the cost to the community, and the unions just do not care - "We're all right, Jack".
Of course the ACT does not have the power to override Commonwealth legislation. We are not talking about that. With all respect, the Government has missed the point, and is either extremely silly - - -
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Your time has expired.
Motion (by Mr Humphries) negatived:
That Mr De Domenico be granted an extension of time.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.40): The forms of the house are something that members have to understand. Fifteen minutes is the limit on an MPI, as mine will be, and I, of course, will not seek any extension of time.
Mr Humphries: You have had extensions before.
MR CONNOLLY: Never on an MPI. Madam Speaker, before I begin I would like to congratulate you on your fine inaugural speech. I was particularly struck by your allusion to those members of a conservative bent who wander aimlessly in the right-wing ideas supermarket - I think that was your phrase. We have just had a trolley load of goods from that right-wing ideas supermarket, have we not? I have never heard such a mishmash of ideology and basic misunderstanding of public administration.
Mr Kaine is wont to often get agitated about knowing what the brackets mean, which is his major contribution, it seems, to public administration. The other thing that members should know, apart from what the brackets mean, is what the dates on an annual report mean. If Mr De Domenico had read the annual report which he cites as an indictment of ACTION and inefficiencies in ACTION, he would have read at page 2:
Dear Minister -
addressed to me -
I have pleasure in submitting the ACTION Annual Report for the year to 30 June 1991.
I think I was Minister for about two weeks of that period, and I am happy to accept the responsibility for the two weeks. This report is a report on the administration of his Government, or rather of Mr Kaine's Government. This MPI should read, "The inability of the Alliance Government to achieve necessary efficiencies in ACTION, leading to the need for Labor to come in and clean up the mess", because that is exactly what has happened.
Much was heard about meal allowances. Mr De Domenico seems to think he has found a little goldmine on the meal allowances issue. As was pointed out in question time, this was an issue that was brought to the attention of the public
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