Page 1497 - Week 05 - Thursday, 12 May 1994
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Mr Berry: You people supported what was going on in South Africa. Do not give me that. The Liberal Party would not support actions to prevent what was going on in South Africa.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry can point his finger. If it breaks the law it ought to be a matter of concern.
Mr Berry: Did you ever support the sanctions? No, you did not support the sanctions.
Mr De Domenico: Rubbish! Have you ever been there?
Mr Berry: Did you support the sanctions? No, you did not.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, members! I do not think Mr Humphries needs assistance from either side. Order!
MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I think it is a matter of disgrace to the Government. I think it ought to be prepared to back any law of this Territory, whether it agrees with it or it does not, if it addresses a matter as important as this.
Mr Connolly's argument was that, historically, we have benefited from the existence of trade unions; that trade unions were a great thing a hundred years ago. Frankly, I agree with him. Of course they were. They redressed some very serious wrongs in our community of 100 years ago. I would also say that we have some cause to be grateful to Henry V for having won the battle of Agincourt. That does not mean that we have to be loyal to the British Crown, using the arguments put by those people's tongues across there, merely because of something that happened 500 years ago.
The question is: What is the role today of trade unionism, and what is the role of trade unions? Should their position be protected by entrenched privilege? Should their power be preserved by some arrangement which gives them the right to say to certain people, "You will not work and you will work."? That is an unacceptable discriminatory practice. It is a practice that must end. The Territory Assembly has passed a law which it thought was designed to ensure that it did end in this Territory, but clearly it is not ending. It will end only when the Government of this Territory does something about enforcing that law. You have a responsibility to do that; nobody else. It is your responsibility, and you have to shoulder that responsibility today.
MR BERRY (4.01): As my colleague Mr Connolly said, this is just a continuation of the old howl against the union movement in this country. Not much has changed in the Liberal Party. During the course of Mr Humphries's speech the issue of the changes in South Africa emerged. I distinctly recall the absence of support by the Liberal Party for the sanctions which had been imposed against South Africa to ensure - - -
Mr Humphries: I think Malcolm Fraser brought them in.
Mr De Domenico: Yes, I think he did. Who brought them in?
Mr Humphries: Malcolm Fraser. What party did he belong to?
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