Page 67 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 7 April 1992
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of the Chief Minister, here "to serve the people of Canberra ... according to their wishes" - their wishes, not our own. So, be warned that any member, even supported by a vocal group of people, who might think they have a good piece of legislation to impose upon the Territory, will need to convince me that it is also according to the wishes of the people of Canberra, before it receives my vote.
As one who supported self-government, my disappointment with the behaviour of much of the First Assembly was considerable. I wrote it off very early in its existence as an aberration and grieved for what I saw as a lost opportunity to create something different, even unique, among parliaments. After all, it is not every day that a new parliament is formed in an ostensibly First World democratic country and it was frustrating to see our ACT Assembly in most respects following the same procedures and, yes, the same behaviour as its tired, often discredited, older State and Federal counterparts.
The advantage of an aberration is simply that it is just that - a deviation, a straying from the path - and thus can be corrected. I believe that we members of the Second Assembly, therefore, have that rare opportunity, a second chance, to make this Assembly a respected institution where sensible and carefully considered decisions are made for the good and responsible governance of this Territory.
We also have the opportunity to establish some sensible reforms through our parliamentary processes, without, I add, discarding the basic Westminster traditions, some of which have been established by the shedding of blood over centuries and should not be lightly cast aside. For example, in the area of reforms, I think we could, indeed should, look at the need for night sittings of this Assembly. They do not seem to have attracted much electoral support - barring, of course, this evening.
Further, perhaps an arrangement that exists, I understand, in the House of Commons could be considered. This allows all divisions to be held at a particular time of day. Thus, busy Ministers and members are not called repeatedly from their other duties - and anyone in this Assembly who wishes to constantly abstain from voting can do so simultaneously. I certainly pledge my support for these worthy and necessary challenges. Further, I welcome the Chief Minister's bipartisan approach to relocating the Assembly back to the South Building, I trust in the not too distant future; thus making a locational as well as attitudinal new beginning.
Madam Speaker, this is my agenda, and I trust that it meets with the approval of those both within the Liberal Party and out in the community who, by their efforts and their votes, placed me here. I owe them a debt of gratitude that can be repaid only by being a good representative, loyal to the Liberal principles that they and I cherish; and I welcome their guidance and advice should they choose or think it necessary to offer it to me over the next three years.
While it is simply not possible to personally thank by name everyone who helped me reach here, there is one person without whom I would not have made it. I refer to my wife, Margaret, to whom I am already grateful and to whom I shall continue to be grateful, politics being either directly or indirectly very much a family affair.
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