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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (22 February) . . Page.. 157 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

I, for one, felt that yesterday's events were intimidating. I certainly did not believe that it was appropriate to continue to operate in that environment.

Ms McRae: Ha, ha!

Mr Berry: Rubbish! They were no more intimidating than your behaviour at question time.

MR HUMPHRIES: Members opposite laugh. They think it was funny to have members in this place - - -

Ms McRae: What do you call me in question time? You never intimidate me; no, no, no! Oh, Mr Purity!

MR HUMPHRIES: In question time our numbers are nicely balanced. There are six of us on this side of the chamber; there are six over there usually, and we are able to slug it out under the regime of the standing orders. When people behave in an untoward way in the gallery the situation is very different. I do not believe that it is appropriate for that to continue. I think we have to have mechanisms to protect the operation of the Assembly when that occurs. That, Mr Speaker, ought to be the objective of this inquiry.

MR KAINE (10.50): Mr Speaker, I note that the Attorney-General has indicated already that the Government will not oppose this motion. I must say as a longstanding member of this Assembly that I find it rather bizarre that a former Speaker of this house brings forward this motion. I am sure that she would not have tolerated the sort of behaviour yesterday had it occurred while she was Speaker, and at the same time she sits there and laughs when a member of this Assembly expresses concern at being intimidated. I know that at least one member of this chamber yesterday was quite intimidated.

Mr Berry: Who?

MR KAINE: I do not think that she thought it was funny at all. If you do not know, Mr Berry, perhaps you should take the time to find out. Do not question me when I tell you that a member of this chamber was quite intimidated by what happened yesterday and was concerned. Yet you, Mr Berry, and the former Speaker sit there and laugh when the Attorney-General makes reference to members of this Assembly being intimidated in the course of their duties. I do not find it funny at all. Mr Speaker, I find the whole matter quite bizarre.

The standing orders that are in place have been in place for a long time and they have been adopted by three consecutive sessions of this parliament. At no time previously did anybody question the validity of standing orders 207 and 209. Now something has changed, and I do not know what has changed. I submit that the previous Speaker would no more have tolerated the behaviour yesterday without doing something about it than you did yesterday. From listening to Ms McRae, she seems now to be defining the Assembly as consisting only of this bit of this room in which we sit when we debate.

Ms McRae: Yes.

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