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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1923 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Mr Speaker, you will recall that the Liberal Party transmitted a message to the Administration and Procedure Committee that it found the proposed new arrangements, before they were adopted, quite unsatisfactory and very damaging to the access that members would be able to engineer with their own constituents. That view was conveyed very clearly to the Administration and Procedure Committee, and the committee promptly decided to ignore those concerns.

Mr Kaine: This is consultation!

MR HUMPHRIES: This is consultation! Members in this place are very fond of lecturing this Government about its inadequate consultation mechanisms; yet, when the Liberal Party was asked to convey to the Administration and Procedure Committee a view about the new security arrangements - and, in a sense, the Executive, the ministry, is more heavily affected by the security arrangements than some other members because they have, I dare say, on average, many more visitors per day than other members do - that view was completely ignored. No changes were made to the arrangements based on the concerns expressed by the Liberal Party.

Mr Berry: Sometimes you are wrong.

MR HUMPHRIES: That is a very interesting comment, Mr Berry - "Sometimes you are wrong". If I had had consultation with the community about a particular proposal and rejected it, you would boast in this place that I had said, "Sometimes they are wrong; I am not going to listen to them because sometimes they are wrong", and you would crucify me.

Mr Kaine: He would try.

MR HUMPHRIES: Well, he would try; yes. You would be jumping up and down here; you would be waving your arms about; you would be spitting chips; you would be doing every bit of histrionics that the guy giving Mr Whitecross acting lessons could think of; you would be doing all of those things if we had said that.

Mr Berry: You have to try the personal stuff on; you cannot help yourself, can you? You have to do the old personal attack, have you not?

MR HUMPHRIES: When it comes to members of the Assembly being consulted, we find a different story. I will return to the question of personal attack when I get to my comments on Mr Prasad's report, Mr Berry, and I will show what a person of inconsistent values you are on such matters. Mr Speaker, let me put on the record very clearly that the Liberal Party has very considerable concerns about the arrangements entered into for security in this place. They have made it difficult for constituents to get access to members. It is a matter of severe concern.

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