Page 9 - Week 01 - Friday, 27 March 1992
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I was elected as the leader of the Michael Moore Independent Group. That group was formed simply because of the bizarre electoral system that the people of Canberra have now rid themselves of. At the time that the Michael Moore Independent Group was formed I made a commitment to operate, following the election, as an Independent, and I am now meeting that commitment. I made that commitment so that I would be seen, and could remain, as an Independent.
I would like to thank, first and foremost, the citizens of the ACT who felt that they would be happy having me represent them in this Assembly. I would like to thank the people who supported me through the election and through a long and tortuous period of scrutineering. I note that over 2,000 volunteer hours were donated to that task. That makes me wear the responsibility of this Assembly even more heavily than perhaps I would do otherwise.
Turning to the team with whom I went into the election, I would like to thank in particular Helen Szuty, Tina van Raay and Stephen Mugford for their contribution and for the hours that they put in. I would like to thank Joan Kellett, who managed the campaign and who is in the chamber today, and, most importantly, my wife Helen and my children for their unswerving support in what is a difficult job, as most of you well know.
I will work to implement, issue by issue, on the floor of the house, the agenda that we have set and that we went to the people of Canberra with. That, in particular, will deal with the planning of Canberra, public education, the environment, and the more difficult social issues which I have already spent much time on. I spent this last week at an international conference dealing with harm associated with the use and misuse of drugs.
Just shortly after the election campaign a statement was made by the secretary of the ALP suggesting in some way that I would follow and have some commitment to an ALP agenda. That has never been the case and never will be the case. I have made a very limited commitment, and that limited commitment will remain. That limited commitment was that I would support the election of Rosemary Follett as Chief Minister, as I have done, and that I would continue that support over the next three years in any no-confidence motion unless there was some question of fraud - something that I do not expect to arise. The other commitment I made was that I would support her Government in their budget Bills and the supply and appropriation Bills.
That is the extent of the commitment I have made and that commitment was made in order to ensure that there would be a stable government in the ACT over the next three years. Any other items on the agenda will come to the floor of this house and will be negotiated on the floor of this house by a majority of members. I believe that that is an appropriate commitment to the people of the ACT and that it fulfils, as best I can, my role as an Independent.
MR STEVENSON, by leave: My party is a party in name, though not in nature. I believe that the majority-expressed will of the people should be represented. We all understand that that majority will was to never have self-government in the first place. I well understand that the majority of people in this election did not vote that way. I think it unfortunate that many people do not understand that they can bring about that which they want. This is possible; this is always possible. It will remain possible in the future.
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