Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (21 February) . . Page.. 128 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

to have direct input and that is truly democratic. Everyone in this place supported that - except, of course, for the Labor Party, so I do not suppose we will get anything too positive from them. But we mean this quite seriously. We want input on this document. If members do not like parts of it, tell us how we can improve it. That is the basis of community consultation.

Mr Berry: Tear it up. Rip it up.

MRS CARNELL: It is interesting that Mr Berry says, "Tear it up".

Mr Berry: That is right. I am on the record.

MRS CARNELL: Fine, Mr Berry. Put forward other proposals on how we can allow the community to have direct input into decision-making in this Territory.

Mr Berry: They have direct input.

MRS CARNELL: That is not what the community are saying. As Canberrans and as an Assembly, let us do the right thing by the people of Canberra and take this on seriously. We need a better approach to self-government in this Territory.

Mr Berry: I will tell you how you can serve the members of the community: Put it straight in the shredder.

MR MOORE (3.44): Mr Speaker, I think that one of the most notable things about this document is that not too long after it was launched to the public last week the Government started to distance itself from the document, saying, "Well, it is only a discussion paper". That happened when some of our comments hit home. Mr Berry said that the best thing for this document is to put it in the garbage bin. It is not that we do not recognise that a certain amount of work has been done. The document is fundamentally flawed. It shows a total misunderstanding of how this Assembly operates.

Mr Speaker, I would like to draw your attention and the attention of members to the editorial in the Canberra Times on Sunday, 18 February, which talks about this document. I will read just a couple of paragraphs from it. The editorial soundly deals with this document. It states:

The report of the ACT Government Reform Advisory Group on better ways of governing the ACT probably has sunk without trace already.

Unfortunately, the Chief Minister did not read the editorial, realise that that is what should have happened to it and let it go. Instead, she has decided to table it here - with a ridiculous speech, which I will also take apart in a minute. The editorial goes on to say:

This is probably a good thing, because though the report contains a few useful observations and recommendations, its analysis seems to be fundamentally flawed by a lack of distinction between problems of executive and of parliamentary government of the ACT, and the

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .