Page 699 - Week 03 - Thursday, 21 May 1992
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No, Madam Speaker, the role of the committee is to propose issues, suggest solutions to problems and then put them before the Assembly as a whole. At that point other members of those parties have a chance to examine the issues that have been proposed by the committee and accept or reject them. It is not unknown for a committee to have support unanimously for a particular proposition which is subsequently rejected by the Assembly as a whole; for example, yesterday's debate on fluoride. A committee chaired by Mr Wood recommended unanimously that we support fluoride at 0.5 parts per million and the Assembly, including all the parties represented on that committee, rejected - - -
Mr Moore: That Assembly first of all adopted it, then this Assembly rejected it.
MR HUMPHRIES: No, it did not. I will correct what Mr Moore has said. In the last Assembly both the Liberal and Labor Party members of that committee recommended that the amount of fluoride go to 0.5 parts per million, and the Liberal and Labor - - -
Mr Berry: Yes, but that Assembly adopted it.
MR HUMPHRIES: Hang on. The Liberal and Labor members of the old Assembly, with one exception - one person crossed the floor - rejected that recommendation, and accepted that it should be one part per million.
Mr Moore: The Assembly adopted it.
MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, but the majority of members came from outside those two parties.
Mr Moore: But do not misrepresent it; that is all I am saying. The Assembly still did adopt it.
MR HUMPHRIES: What I am saying is that membership of a committee does not bind that party to the proposition that the member might put in that committee, and that is why we should all have the chance to examine these matters in sufficient time. I do not think a paper which came down seven days ago, which makes important changes to the way in which the Assembly does its business, ought to be considered so quickly today. If we want to rush this through, that is fine. Obviously, you have the numbers and that is unfortunate. We are adopting recommendations today; we are accepting that this should be happening, Mr Moore.
Mr Moore: It is not exclusive; it does not preclude longer debate.
MR HUMPHRIES: I am sorry; I think you are splitting hairs. Madam Speaker, I think we are rushing into things here. I think the Assembly would do well to take its time and make sure that it does things properly and does not rush them.
MR MOORE: Madam Speaker, I seek leave to make a couple of comments on this debate that I had not intended to make earlier. It seems to me that Mr Humphries misunderstands what it does.
Leave granted.
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