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Mr Humphries: Much later.

MR MOORE: Much later. The conduct that he had participated in certainly was illegal. Nevertheless, there was an expansion there. It seems to me that, with this issue hanging over the head of the Chief Minister and Ministers, it would have been appropriate to look at what had happened in New South Wales and expand upon the law in a code of conduct. We could look at a series of other occurrences - for example, what happened with Mr Greiner in New South Wales - and expand upon the law with reference to the conduct involved there. Mr Speaker, I think this is a positive step forward. I think the point that the Leader of the Opposition was trying to make was that there are still some holes in it, and it may well be worth expanding on in order to resolve those specific problems. I welcome the code of conduct for Ministers being open and public but suggest that it ought to be a living document; that it could cover some of those other areas which could well be subject to the sort of situation that we have seen in New South Wales. Mr Speaker, yes, we have legislation in place. We expect members, who of course make laws, to abide by those laws, and more so Ministers. It is appropriate that the code of conduct apply.

However, in my brief reading of the code of conduct, I wonder whether it has gone too far in one respect. According to the definitions, “immediate family” means the Minister's spouse and children. As members become older - and we have older members - their children live an entirely different life from them. On my reading of this, if an obligation on an immediate family member has some impact on the way the Minister carries out their duty, then clearly it is appropriate for immediate family members to be included. But there are, of course, situations where declarations of interests of a member's offspring may be inappropriate. I think that is something that needs to be looked at very carefully to make sure that we are not interfering with the privacy of children. It may well be the case that members’ children are opposed to a parent being involved in the political process and may find such a thing invasive. There is a situation there that I think will require some very careful monitoring. But in general terms, Mr Speaker, I must say that I welcome the code of conduct.

MR KAINE (3.43): It seems to me that the kind of debate that has developed today is indicative of the fact that such a document would generate great interest in the community and elsewhere; and that in itself, to my mind, is a good thing. I think it is important, not only to us who sit in this chamber and those who work for us but to everybody in the community, for the kind of behaviour that the community can expect from those of us who are elected here to be set down somewhere.

Short of criticising this document, I think it is a good document. Perhaps it could go further. Perhaps the code of conduct should apply to every member of this Assembly. In fact, in some of the matters that are mentioned in it I cannot see why the behaviour of a non-Executive member could be any different to the behaviour of an Executive member without coming under some form of criticism. We are all involved in some fashion in the development of legislation and, if any of us have an interest of a very personal kind in the outcomes of that legislation, then we have an obligation to declare it. It does not matter whether you are a member of the Executive or not. It is a question of how far you go.

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