Page 3579 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 19 October 1993
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Mr De Domenico: Did they give odds for that as well? I would like a bit of that.
MRS CARNELL: No, they did not give odds. This might be the preferred vision for some, but there is no doubt, Madam Speaker, that it is not the preferred vision for many Australians. It is also interesting to note that the Prime Minister's republican position, according to the 2020 study, is going to be adopted in full. According to the 2020 study, we are going to have the minimalist position. We will have a republic and, of course, we will have a new flag. That is interesting, taking into account that the Australian community generally now either does not want a republic at all, or, alternatively, if you believe the polling, is not interested in having a popularly elected president. It appears that lots of people are going to change their mind. In fact, this is hardly a vision that encourages consensus, or, for that matter, non-partisan support. Madam Speaker, a vision that is not shared, I think, is no vision at all. In fact, it is really just merely an opinion.
Madam Speaker, some of the other very interesting parts of this report I would like to quote directly. Let me quote from "Canberra 2020 : Vision for Prosperity". It says:
Our democracy is now more participatory and less representative. There is instant electronic voting on issues which attract the signatures of 20 per cent of petitioning registered voters in each region, or for the whole nation.
Interesting indeed, Madam Speaker! Only this week the Chief Minister described the concept - well, last week actually - - -
Mr De Domenico: Last week; she changed her mind.
MRS CARNELL: Yes, that is right; she changed her mind. She described the concept of voter initiated referendums as nonsense. Mr Berry called it chaos.
Mr De Domenico: What did Mr Lamont say?
MRS CARNELL: Mr Lamont said that it was some great invention of the League of Rights and was mere propaganda. Now we find that it is actually in "Canberra 2020 : Vision for Prosperity". It would appear that it is not nonsense, it is not chaos and it is not some invention of the League of Rights.
Mr De Domenico: It is visionary, is it?
MRS CARNELL: Yes. In fact it is part of our vision for the future of Canberra, for the future of the region, and possibly for the future of Australia. The Liberal Party, as any progressive group would do, is examining this proposal to increase community participation in government, as this vision embraces. The Chief Minister has made her position very clear. Voter initiated referenda certainly are not part of her vision, but they certainly are part of the Reference Group's vision. Possibly Ms Follett may have to change her vision in this particular area.
I turn to another snapshot of Canberra in 2020 and again I quote from the report:
... there has been a deliberate policy, by the conscious plantings of relevant plant species, to attract native birds to the city ... and to drive the exotic birds out.
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