Page 4051 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
In other words, people cannot be trusted to make a decision about propositions from powerful special interest groups; oh, no. But, of course, politicians can be trusted. They would never give in to powerful special interest groups; oh, no; they are much too much beyond that. Madam Speaker, the vein of this report that people of the ACT are open, effectively, to the bribery and corruption of special interest groups is a vein which is insulting to the people of the ACT. I have to ask: How did this bunch of no-hopers that the committee majority seems to think makes up the ACT population manage to elect such a wonderful Assembly? There is a profound distrust of the electorate evident in this committee report.
Moreover, there is an air of fear - fear of an elite, which includes Mr Moore, whose power to govern exclusively in this Territory is being threatened by this proposal. That is what this report is all about. It was prepared by those who see their chance to define the issues, be they euthanasia, urban infill, abortion or whatever it might be. (Extension of time granted) It is fascinating that in the same breath as the committee majority argues that politicians are disinterested, unlike the rest of the population, the political interest of those who are the majority authors of this report appears to be paramount.
Let us go to a few small details in this report. Mr Moore was quick to defend the report. I have to say that it was a poorly researched and muddled report. For example, I read with interest how the authorities in California had some difficulty in obtaining the names of people who voted at a previous election in order to get them to sign a referendum petition for another referendum. Mr Moore does not realise that that provision exists not just in California but anywhere in the United States or anywhere in the world. You have it wrong. You could not even research your report to the extent of being able to get it right.
I read criticisms of the Swiss experience with referenda. I read how the people of Switzerland are discontented with this process. I looked to see the authority for this statement. I saw that the arguments were drawn from a press release prepared for the Swiss National Tourist Office. Apparently the people of Switzerland have a different point of view. Certainly, all the authors I have read on the subject argue that the people of Switzerland are very happy with the structure of self-government. That is just one small point.
Mr Moore made the point about proposition 187 in the California election held yesterday, and how that got up, making it illegal for illegal immigrants to receive health care and education. I remind Mr Moore that that is already the case in Australia. Illegal immigrants cannot get health care in this country. What a pity the people of California are doing what we have already done for many years in Australia! The other extraordinary statement I heard Mr Moore make was that the Liberals want this issue as an election issue. If we want it as an election issue, why are we pushing so hard to have the Bill debated and brought into law before the election? We want to kill the issue. We want the issue to be in place so that there is no question of a campaign for or against CIR.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .