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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 808 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

One final point I want to make is in regard to Mr Moore's proposal to address the issue of defining what powers this legislature has compared with the Federal Parliament. Mr Moore's proposal would, in the long term, resolve the problem, but it could be a very difficult process to go through. I would proffer as an alternative an amendment to the self-government Act. I understand that the Act has a section which allows the Federal Parliament to overrule legislation made by the ACT Legislative Assembly. You could, quite simply, amend the self-government Act and delete that section. That would not stop future Federal parliaments from reinserting the clause or overruling the Act in other ways, but it would at least signal the intention of the Federal Parliament that it is no longer prepared to interfere with the duly elected processes of the ACT Legislative Assembly, and it would in some ways put a stop, a caution, on the Federal Parliament doing that. I think that is worth considering also. I thank the Assembly for its time, and I hope this MPI is supported - I am sure it will be - and that a clear message is sent to the Federal Parliament.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hird): The discussion is concluded.

Motion (by Mr Humphries) agreed to, with the concurrence of an absolute majority:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the order of the day, Executive business, relating to Members' interests in gaming machines, being called on forthwith.

Debate resumed.

MR MOORE (4.47): It is a very interesting time for this Assembly in many ways. In fact, the most recent debate on a matter of public importance has indicated that. In terms of democracy, there are also some fundamental questions before us. Do we want to go down the path of the United States democracy, where the election of a president costs how many millions of dollars; where the election of a congressman costs how many millions of dollars; where the election of a member to a State parliament costs how many hundreds of thousands and, in some cases, millions of dollars; where donations are made equally to the political parties, not because a business or a particular concern believes that a particular political entity will suit their purposes and will be better for the community? If you believe that, you give your donation to one political party.

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