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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3815 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Mr Speaker, there is, in a sense, an argument about public spirit and public direction on policy in this country. I think it is important that we, as a part of that process of public direction and public debate, state very clearly on behalf of the people we represent what our view is about the direction the Australian society should head in, and our views about the fundamental principles that we hold dear as members of the Australian community and, indeed, as leaders of the ACT community. For that reason, the five principles which the Chief Minister has put forward, the same five principles that essentially were endorsed unanimously by the Federal Parliament a few weeks ago, are a chance for us to restate our belief in our support for those values, and our conviction that Australian society should be built on these principles and that we should not succumb to policies that are based around principles of division or racism.

In that spirit, Mr Speaker, I have to express some slight concern about the amendment which has been put forward by Mr Whitecross. I have two concerns about it. I am concerned about the procedure that Mr Whitecross chose to use to bring this amendment forward. It was not discussed with anybody on this side of the chamber, except for a few moments before it was introduced. It represents a departure from the agreement that I thought we would reach on the principles that the Federal Parliament has reached agreement on, in that it departs from a statement of our beliefs and principles as legislators and talks instead about government policy and action. It puts on the table a series of specific initiatives which may or may not be appropriate to this particular debate.

I think that, generally speaking, those principles are appropriate to this debate and I am prepared to support at least three of those four specific actions that flow from the amendment. Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate in the sense that it carries the connotation that, having agreed to these principles, the ACT Government now has certain responsibilities to move forward to redress certain problems in pursuing those principles. I think it could be said that the amendment implies that it is the ACT Government's responsibility to do something about Aboriginal deaths in custody and it is the ACT Government's responsibility to put in place access and equity policies, and in a sense it is. In a sense it is our responsibility, but a statement of those things as objectives clouds the real issue that we have raised tonight, and that is unanimous agreement on certain principles.

Even at this late stage I would appeal to Mr Whitecross not to proceed with this amendment if he does not believe it is going to get the support of all in the Assembly. The concept of moving this motion was very simple. It was to send to all in the community an unambiguous statement about the principles in which every one of us, without exception, believes. If we cannot do that because semi-political issues have been added, that is very unfortunate. We did not cast these words in isolation. We circulated these words to other members of the Assembly and we based them squarely on the words that were agreed by members of the Federal Parliament just a few weeks ago. I appeal to members to not divert the attention of commentators and observers or the focus of this Assembly away from that fundamental issue.

Mr Speaker, I move the following amendment to Mr Whitecross's amendment:

Omit paragraph (6)(c).

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