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Mrs Carnell: We could not do it anyway. It is policy.

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell shakes her head. Mrs Carnell, if you have a look at the law, you will discover that you would probably be able to do this administratively. Now you will not be able to, and that is good news.

MS TUCKER (11.49): Mr Speaker, we support Mr Moore's amendment. I must say that we were concerned to see something that appeared to be taking away from the Assembly the possibility of debate. I will not talk for 10 minutes; I will just say that we would always be wanting to see as many issues as possible debated fully and openly in this place.

MR HIRD (11.50): Mr Speaker, as usual, Mr Berry lives in a vacuum. As usual, Mr Berry tends to read into words things that do not exist. Mr Berry knows that the Liberal Party's policy is to introduce legislation. If you are going to have legislation in place, you need to bring it into this house. As the Chief Minister indicated, this motion is a nonsense. Mr Berry, as for your words about the Liberal Party's mates in small business, let me say that we did not put, or try to put, out of business those small business operators in Tuggeranong by extending a shopping complex. Your business mates, during your term in government, took advantage of the back doors to your offices on numerous occasions.

We are about open government. If we were to make a change, it would have to be done in accordance with our policies and by bringing legislation into this place. As Mr De Domenico rightly said, we would also need the approval of the Federal Government if we wanted to change the legislation. We will not do that because, as Mr De Domenico said - and he can count better than Mr Berry can - on 18 February there was a bolt of lightning. It hit, and it put you, Mr Berry, on the other side of this house. There is a change, and we are here to make certain that we have open government, in accordance with the policies of the Liberal Party, as put to the electorate on that date.

MR SPEAKER: Does the Minister wish to speak to the amendment?

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General and Minister for the Environment, Land and Planning) (11.52): Just to gild the lily, possibly, Mr Speaker. I do not think Mr Berry has understood that there is more than just a cosmetic change to the way in which this Assembly operates. There is no illusion anywhere in this Assembly, I am sure, as to the fact that a change to the leasehold system of any significant kind amounts to a big move. No member on this side of the chamber would be stupid enough to risk censuring himself or herself or bringing down the Government for the sake of trying to pull a swiftie of the kind that Mr Berry seems to think is on the cards.

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