Page 2124 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 9 September 1992
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MADAM SPEAKER: I call Mr Connolly.
Mr Stevenson: I take a point of order, Madam Speaker. Under standing order 44 - - -
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Stevenson, I am the Speaker. Mr Connolly has the floor.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.43): Thank you, Madam Speaker. The normal conventions applying, this gives the Government two responses to three attacks, which seems reasonably fair.
Madam Speaker, the Liberal Opposition really has very little to offer the Canberra electorate, and that is shown very clearly by this fairly wet matter of public importance proposed today. Their lack of anything to offer was shown most clearly by the fact that it is Ms Szuty who has been pursuing this matter. Ms Szuty asked the question yesterday; Ms Szuty has shown the interest in this matter and has been pursuing the Government with questions as to where we are going. As the Chief Minister indicated yesterday in response to Ms Szuty's question, not the Liberal Party's question, the Government has the matter in hand and is progressing the matter.
What the Liberals are clearly trying to do is to create some sort of fantasy of a conspiratorial government seeking to somehow evade the clear commitment given by the leader of the Labor Party before the election to implement the will of the people. I remind Independent members in particular that it was the Chief Minister who was first to give a commitment before the election to implement the will of the people, whatever the result. The Liberal Party followed some time thereafter.
Mr Kaine: I do not think that is quite true.
MR CONNOLLY: It is. Madam Speaker, the essential point to remember in this conspiracy fantasy is that it will be the members of this Assembly who pass the law. It will not be the executive government sitting down somewhere. It will not be the Labor Party's extraparliamentary forums that do this. It will be the Assembly. So the law that eventually establishes the electoral system will represent the will of the Assembly. As we know, the Labor Party, although it received by far the largest block of support from the community - about a third greater than the support for the Liberal Party - at the last election, has eight seats. Therefore the Labor Party cannot impose an electoral system on the people of Canberra.
This fantasy that Mr Cornwell was prattling on about, trying to get some media interest in a conspiracy theory, is just that - a fantasy. This Assembly will pass the law. This Assembly will implement the will of the people. Our commitment is to proceed on that. The matters are complex. The interrelationships between the legislative powers of this Assembly, the Commonwealth Electoral Act and the self-government Act were set out by the Chief Minister. That is being worked on. We have legal officers from the Attorney-General's Department working on that in the machinery of government section. The matter will be progressed. The timetable was made clear yesterday and expanded upon today by the Chief Minister, leaving me little to add. As is clear, there will be a 12-month period for consultation after that.
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