Page 377 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 1993
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MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Berry has already demonstrated that the Health Department is down $6m on its budget. Quite frankly, Mr Connolly, I, for one, do not care what happened in 1990. This is 1993 and this Opposition still has not had a chance, and, I put to you, Madam Speaker, nor have the Independents, to look at this major legislation for long enough to make an informed comment. We are here, elected as 17 representatives of the people in the ACT, to make sure that we do the best possible job; to make sure that you lot over the other side do not treat this house like a Labor Party meeting in Belconnen or somewhere. We will not allow you to do that.
If you think this Bill is so urgent, why did you not declare it urgent? You do not think it is. You are playing politics, Mr Berry - through you, Madam Speaker - and you know that you are. We will not allow you to do that. We will not debate in this house any Bill that we have not had enough time to look at seriously. For that reason, Madam Speaker, I support Mr Humphries's motion.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (4.55): Madam Speaker, I will run through a list of things. The Liquor (Amendment) Bill 1990, which was introduced on 21 November 1990, was passed on 28 November - this is just a few of them, Mr Humphries - the Magistrates Court (Amendment) Bill 1990, which was introduced on 11 December 1990, was passed on 13 December; the Motor Traffic (Alcohol and Drugs) (Amendment) Bill was passed on 11 December.
Mr Humphries: You agreed to all of those, didn't you?
MR BERRY: Yes, we did agree to them because we had the energy to look at the legislation. We do not go and sleep somewhere. The Motor Traffic (Amendment) Bill (No. 7) 1990 was introduced on 18 October 1990 and passed on 24 October; the Motor Traffic (Amendment) Bill (No. 8) 1990 was introduced on the 22nd and passed on the 28th; the Pool Betting (Amendment) Bill 1990 was introduced on 22 November 1990 and passed on the 27th. The list goes on and on. Madam Speaker, their arguments were fallacious. Their history demonstrates that this is nothing more than a stunt.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (4.57): Madam Speaker, Mr Berry just demonstrated how shallow the members of the Government are. What he is trying to say is that we put Bills through in a hurry too. The difference was that we put them through after discussing them with you. If you did not agree with them, why did you not object at the time? In other words, you did not do what you were being paid to do. You did not act as an opposition; you just sat there and got yourself raped. That is rubbish, and you know it. Those Bills were discussed with you and you agreed to them before they were tabled. That is why they went through.
That is not what is happening now. You have put significant Bills on the table. Not only have you not discussed them with us; you have not discussed them with anybody. You show me the people out there who are concerned about the consequences of this Health Bill and that you have discussed it with. Show me with whom you have discussed your hotels Bill that is coming up tomorrow. You did not discuss it with the Hotels Association. If you did not discuss it with them, whom did you discuss it with? The answer is nobody. So do not try to pull this backhanded stunt. If you passed legislation two years ago without knowing what it was about you were derelict in your duty. We do not intend to be.
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