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MR SPEAKER: Relevance, Mr Moore.

MR MOORE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am glad that you drew my attention to that. I will in turn pass your advice on to the Chief Minister. Try to keep your interjections relevant, if you would not mind, Chief Minister.

MR SPEAKER: Interjections are out of order, Mr Moore.

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, we have a very sensible motion put up by Mr Berry to assist in getting a clear message of disapproval through to the French Government, who I believe have been shocked by the international reaction to the tests. They really believed that there would be a minimal amount of international reaction. We have to keep that going.

Ms Tucker, in moving her amendments, quite rightly said that it is inappropriate for us to tackle the French when the Chinese are continuing their nuclear experiments. That is an issue that we are going to have to deal with in due time. The real reason that we are tackling the French is that they are in the process of reversing the direction of the nuclear arms race. That is why we need to send the French a very clear message. Every little bit helps. That is why I will be supporting this motion.

MR KAINE (12.18): Mr Speaker, I will not be supporting the motion. I am going to pull the motion apart, just as Mr Moore suggested. It really is a nonsense motion. I understand the general proposition that Mr Berry is trying to put forward and that Mr Moore is trying to justify, but the Assembly has already expressed its opinion on that matter with a very strong motion. The Chief Minister, for example, was directed by this Assembly to write to the mayor of Versailles and tell him exactly what we thought. How many times do we have to repeat this? It is just a political gimmick. It is not even a useful gesture.

What does Mr Berry expect to do with this list of products when he gets it? What earthly purpose is it going to serve for the Government to be put to such an enormous amount of trouble? Public servants the length and breadth of the ACT Government Service will have to sit down and analyse what they buy and what they use, to see whether it comes from France or not, and then produce a mammoth inventory. They will also have to see whether it comes from China. I presume that we mean the People's Republic of China. What does the word “Chinese” mean? Let us be specific. I cannot imagine what Mr Berry or anybody else is going to do with the list when it has been produced. If he had bothered to spend a little bit of time writing a motion that meant something, I suggest that he would have had even the support of the Government; but the motion is a ridiculous motion. I could not possibly support part (1) of it, because it simply puts a lot of people to a lot of work for no purpose whatsoever. Perhaps Ms Tucker can tell us what she is going to do with the list when we produce it, other than prop the door of her office open with it. It will be big enough, I submit.

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