Page 3969 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 16 December 1992
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Mr Humphries: You are not filibustering, are you?
MRS GRASSBY: How dare you say that about me, Gary! I have never filibustered in my life. I get on and do what I believe in. That is why I am here, Mr Humphries, and not out there.
Mr De Domenico: And you avoid cliches like the plague.
MRS GRASSBY: Of course I do. I am absolutely horrified, Mr Humphries, that you would make a statement like that about me in this house, when I have been so kind to you. I even tried to find you a wife. I know that I was not successful in that, Mr Humphries; but I did try, believe you me. You are one of life's treasures I did not want to go by. I wanted some lovely girl to be able to have you. Anyway, you looked after that yourself and I am glad that you did, Mr Humphries. I would like you to join the ranks of us married people.
To get back to what we are talking about, Mr Stevenson wants to stop this house working the way it should work, by running around and getting what he calls Dennis polls from five or six people and believing that he knows what the people out there really want. He has no idea what the people want and our two parties do know because we have a lot of people backing us up. I feel that Dennis is trying to hold up the work of this house. We have had Bills go through that have been out in the public arena for months. The Adoption Bill has been in the public arena for months and it should have gone through.
Mr Moore: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: Mrs Grassby's reflection on a vote of the Assembly is entirely inappropriate. I must say that I am very surprised at her.
MRS GRASSBY: I have touched a raw nerve. I am sorry about that, Madam Speaker. I withdraw that. I would not like to upset you in any way, it being so close to Christmas. Because you are losing your voice, it would not be very nice to do that to you.
There have been many Bills in this house that have been out in the public arena for months. They have been viewed by both parties and by the people they concern, yet they have been held up time and time again. Now Mr Stevenson wants to hold them up even longer. My argument is: What are we doing here then? Why are we here? I think Mr Stevenson has thought of a great idea to get rid of this house. This is his way to get rid of this house. Do not let anything happen in here, and in the end there will be no reason for us to be here. It is a very cute point of Mr Stevenson's. He obviously lay in bed last night - wherever his bed was last night, whether it was here or somewhere else - and thought this out very carefully. "How do I hold up things so that nothing ever goes through this house and we never get any work done, and then maybe the people will get rid of us?". I am sorry to say, Mr Stevenson, that it will not happen. After the next election you will not be here, so there will not be any worry. There will be the Liberal and Labor parties here.
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