Page 1482 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 11 August 1992
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MR STEVENSON (10.13): Mr Lamont earlier quoted Edmund Burke. Three years after that quote Burke said:
If any ask me what a free government is, I answer that, for any practical purpose, it is what the people think so - and that they, and not I, are the natural, lawful, and competent judges of this matter.
We have surveyed people in Canberra on the specific issue of whether they feel that elected representatives in this Assembly should follow the majority expressed will of the people or that the representatives should follow the directives of the party. I believe that 80 per cent felt that they should be supported by their local representatives, and 12 per cent voted for the party. Mr Lamont mentioned earlier that we are responsible to the electorate. That is indeed the case; however, often we do not vote that way.
There are a couple of small points I want to make. Mr Lamont mentioned earlier about giving free tickets to the circus to two-year-olds. Indeed, they were free and a lot of people would go along to something that is free when they may not otherwise. But if we go back to the recent Ashton's Circus, when 27,000 people paid, perhaps that is a fair indication of the endorsement of people of circuses in the ACT.
There is one final point I feel I should raise. Really, regardless of what we think about any issue ourselves, I feel that we should go along and look at someone else's view or at least allow them to come to us and listen to their view. Some time ago, when Mr Humphries was Minister for Education, he went along to meeting after meeting after meeting and had, I think, the hottest time of any Minister in this Assembly; but he kept going to present himself before quite hostile groups and was prepared to make his points and listen to other viewpoints. That was commendable.
I think it is unfortunate - I believe this to be the case - that members of the Labor Party were not prepared to have discussions with people who work for or who operate circuses.
Ms Ellis: It is not true.
MR STEVENSON: You did?
Ms Ellis: I met Mr Perry and asked him to call my office and see me and I never heard from him.
MR STEVENSON: That is a good point. I congratulate you for that. I know that Mr Lamont had a brief chat to someone when he called into the office. I think other members in this Assembly have learned a lot - I certainly have - about circuses and animals and so on from both sides of the debate. I think some of us have changed some views in some areas. That was only because we had been prepared to speak freely with other people and to debate the matter. I think it unfortunate that that was not the case. However, as I said earlier, I feel that the will of the people should be followed and that will is clearly that we do not ban circuses in the ACT.
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