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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 802 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

We clearly now have a responsibility to go past the complaining stage of what has just happened to us. What has happened is appalling, and this morning I made some scathing comments about Federal members who supported this legislation. I think it is right for all of us to thank the members who stood up for the Territories. I know that there are some members who were opposed to euthanasia but who opposed the Andrews Bill because they sought to protect the rights of Territories to make their own decisions. To those members I say thank you. To members who supported the Territories in whatever way, I say thank you, and I think members here would agree with me as far as that goes.

To the other Federal members and senators who supported the Andrews Bill, I cannot be vehement enough in my disgust at the actions they took. It is not about the issue of euthanasia, because in this parliament I have lost that debate before and never have I expressed this vehemence against members who voted against me on this particular issue. The vehemence is about using that power to override another parliament after they had established that parliament. Can you imagine the view of members such as John Howard, who have been in the Federal Parliament for longer than 10 years, had the British Parliament sought to do exactly the same to the Australian Constitution? It would have been totally unacceptable.

It is time for us to begin negotiations to establish a joint Act, an Act of this parliament and the Federal Parliament, that clarifies the power of this parliament, that gets a joint agreement between us and the Federal Parliament as to where we can legislate and where we cannot, so that we can be protected from this sort of legislation. We have a model upon which to base it: The legislation that passed through the Australian Parliament and the British Parliament, the Australia Act. I presume that such negotiations should be carried out in conjunction with the Northern Territory and perhaps Norfolk Island.

I urge the Chief Minister to take up the suggestion, to begin the research, and to do it in conjunction with the Speaker, whose responsibility this parliament is, to begin the preparation for such negotiation. Until we have established such an Act, until we have established such a method of ensuring just what our power is and what our power is not, there will hang over every piece of legislation put through this Assembly a shadow. We simply cannot continue to work in that way without at least trying to achieve something, at least trying to do something about it.

Perhaps the current members of the Federal Parliament will not agree to it, but we should begin the negotiations now. There will be times when the Federal Parliament will want us to act on their behalf. It happens regularly with joint meetings of Australian heads of government that there are negotiations to ensure a coordinated approach. It would seem to me that in those sorts of forums we are likely to get much more support than was exhibited in the attitude of members of the Federal Parliament and, most appallingly, the Prime Minister. This is indeed a very important issue that has been raised by Mrs Littlewood. It is a matter of vital public importance, and it is time for us now to start looking forward and to begin to make the appropriate changes.

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