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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 14 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 4848 ..

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, there is an interjection from Mr Humphries while I am standing and speaking to the motion. I draw your attention to the fact that he is interjecting. Apart from that, Mr Speaker, I am perfectly entitled to move an amendment to Mr Humphries's motion, and that is what I intend to do. I am not quite sure what Mr Humphries's motion is because I do not have it in writing before me. I understand now that the motion is:

That members of the Government Service be permitted for the duration of this debate to sit on the floor of the Assembly.

I move the following amendment:

After "Government Service" insert "including members employed pursuant to the Legislative Assembly (Members' Staff) Act".

Mr Speaker, I do this because we have a situation here where we see the Labor crossbenches joining with the Government while the Green-Independent opposition works hard on this piece of legislation. No doubt, Mr Speaker, Labor are embarrassed, and they should be embarrassed, because what work have they done on this piece of legislation? Hardly any. What have they done? They have said, "Oh, yes. We are going to let the Government do it". They have looked at our amendments, they have looked at the Greens' amendments, and they are doing away with their own position on the crossbenches.

Mr Whitecross: Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. I know we are going to hear this argument from Mr Moore several times, but it is not really relevant to the current debate. I would ask you, in the interests of the whole Assembly, to keep him relevant.

MR SPEAKER: Relevance, Mr Moore.

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, the question is whether or not we allow assistance in debating a complicated piece of legislation. I draw attention to the Labor crossbenches because it is particularly relevant to this issue. The Labor Party have objected to this because they do not need this sort of assistance themselves. That is the point I am trying to make. Why do they not need this sort of assistance themselves?

Mr Berry: Because we are competent. We are competent.

MR MOORE: Mr Berry appropriately interjects, "Because we are incompetent".

Mr Berry: No; "We are competent".

MR MOORE: "Incompetent", he said, Mr Speaker, and that is exactly the point I am trying to make. I am glad that Mr Berry has admitted the incompetence of the Labor Party. The irony is that their incompetence just increased 100 per cent with the loss of Ms Follett. She represented about half the competence of the Labor Party - - -

MR SPEAKER: Relevance, Mr Moore.

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