Page 1081 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 23 June 1992
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Government Coalition has mentioned in his press statement, I have my own opinions on why they should or should not progress through the Assembly with any urgency. As mentioned before, I feel that there has been sufficient time given for the community to discuss the repeal of the termination of pregnancy legislation and I have held discussions with the Right to Life movement and the representatives of Options. Both groups were lobbying on the issue long before the current Bill was tabled. On the matter of the display of exotic animals in circuses, I have stated that I do not intend to be rushed, as the amendment tabled has sought to completely change clause 5 of the Animal Welfare Bill currently before the Assembly, and I have not had sufficient opportunity to canvass these issues with the relevant interest groups.
Mr Moore and I have declared ourselves Independent members of this Assembly. We have not split portfolios. We do discuss matters before the Assembly, but each of us reads and follows through on issues to bring our own point of view to the matters at hand. That is what Independents do. If you look at the number of Bills passed into legislation in the sittings to date, members will see the range of issues we have had to deal with - Crimes Act amendments, the Bail Bill, the Agents (Amendment) Bill, a host of amendments to Acts to bring them into line with current EEO practice, the Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill, the Supply Bill, and the list goes on. Twenty-six Bills have been passed and 26 more are on the table. If the interests of the Canberra public are to be served, we need as much time as possible to become familiar with the issues and to ensure that we are well informed.
There is no question that the proposed legislative program for the current sitting period is heavy, with the Government introducing a host of legislation last week, with some expectation that most of it would be passed this week. In this regard, some of these Bills, which have had less publicity than others but will equally affect the residents of Canberra, will suffer if there is no attempt made to sensibly prioritise them. The Government needs to ensure that, similar to any other management practice, priorities are set and action is then taken on the basis of those priorities.
The leader of the Abolish Self Government Coalition has foreshadowed a motion to change standing orders to enshrine the notion that Bills lie on the table for 60 days before final debate. I do not see the need for this action at this time. What is needed is an expression of goodwill by the Government that recognises the needs of all members and that there is a lot to be gained from non party-political practices becoming the normal mode of operation of this Assembly. There is no need for the Government to ambush the other members of the Assembly with legislation by the metre. Politics aside, all MLAs need to cooperate as much as possible to determine the legislative program. This Government has been given a mandate to govern, not to railroad legislation through the Assembly.
MR MOORE (3.42): It seems to me that, on the face of it, Mr Stevenson's MPI does raise some very important issues. Of course, the very easy way for a simple mind to deal with issues is to put them in black and white, to polarise the ideas and to say that one thing is okay and another thing is not. But the reality is that very rarely can such polarisations occur and be successful in the way we deal with things. The ideal, as the leader of the Abolish Self Government Coalition points out, is that a Bill should remain on the table for something in the order of 60 days. This is something that I have spoken of before in this house, as indeed has Mr Stevenson.
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