Page 2941 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 September 1994
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Scrutiny of Bills Committee did in making various comments about the Bill. We took all those on board. As members know, when I reintroduced the Bill on two occasions, we took the opportunity to make a number of other changes as well. They were changes proposed to us by various groups and individuals.
Why I feel that it would be valuable for me to be on the committee is that, having done all that work, I have a pretty fair handle on the cases for and against different details. It is not so much a matter of the principle, as Mrs Carnell mentioned, because you either agree or disagree with the principle. Either you agree with democracy or you do not.
Mrs Grassby: Like "no self-government"?
MR STEVENSON: Bringing up no self-government is like waving a flag at a bull. I do not have a copy of the paper here - a lot of them have been given out recently - but on the back of it I gave a couple of reasons why it might be useful to have binding citizens-initiated referenda. I listed 60 increased taxes and reduced services that have come in - I cannot say "since we have had self-government in the ACT", because we do not have it - since we had forced on us this State-like Legislative Assembly. It was never meant to be self-government, and it is not self-government. It is a State-like government.
I listed them. Sixty was a conservative number. Many of those taxes have gone up many times. According to this morning's paper, we are to be hit with some more. I would not be against self-government, if we had it; but let us have a council, with a lord mayor, which will look after roads, rates, rubbish, drains, dogs and development, and let us give back health, education and law and order to the Commonwealth Government, which has constitutional responsibility for those things.
Mrs Grassby: They will not take them back. Dennis, you are away with the birds, or maybe Mickey Mouse.
MR STEVENSON: With the mice. The important point is that people should have a say. If you ask people in Canberra, over 90 per cent of them will tell you that we had two referendums in Canberra and we said "no" twice. I have tried to find out what the second one was, and I cannot.
Ms Follett: There wasn't one; that is why.
MR STEVENSON: I know that there is only one listed, for 1978; but, if you go outside now and grab 10 people, I guarantee that the majority of them who have been here for a while will tell you that they voted twice. I cannot find out what they are referring to, and I would love to. If someone can tell me, I would be most interested to know. I really want to know. I have contacted the universities, the Canberra Times, the Electoral Commission and all the rest. I wanted to find out what people refer to when they say, "We had two". People sitting on the other side of the table at meetings have said to me, "Do not tell me that we had only one. I voted at two". I wish that someone could tell me what it was. The truth of the matter is that people did not want self-government.
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