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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2497 ..

MR WOOD (continuing):

will support the motion as it has been amended. We, like others in Canberra and others in this Assembly, will carry on with a campaign to make the Prime Minister live in the Lodge. For some of us, it will be to see that there is a different party providing a different Prime Minister who will live in that Lodge.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

ELECTORAL (AMENDMENT) BILL (NO. 2) 1996

Debate resumed from 4 December 1996, on motion by Mr Moore:

That this Bill be agreed to in principle.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (11.36): Mr Speaker, I am circulating now some amendments to the Bill which have the effect of separating the two issues which the Bill gives rise to. The Bill, of course, as members will recall, firstly, provides for elections in the ACT to be moved from February to October - - -

Mr Berry: I have never heard of these amendments.

MR HUMPHRIES: We discussed them with the Leader of the Opposition, but he was a different person a few weeks ago.

Mr Berry: You have not discussed it with me.

MR HUMPHRIES: I am sorry. We discussed it with the Australian Labor Party - - -

Mr Berry: No, you never discussed it with me.

MR HUMPHRIES: Your representative at that stage was someone different.

Mr Berry: You never discussed it with me.

MR HUMPHRIES: If you change leaders like revolving doors, that is not my fault.

Mr Berry: If you spring them on the Assembly the morning that it is going to be discussed - - -

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, for the record, let me make it perfectly clear that this matter was discussed fully with the Australian Labor Party's chief representative. When I discussed the issue, I discussed it with the then Leader of the Opposition, who was at that stage, and perhaps still is, the spokesperson for the Australian Labor Party on electoral matters, and we reached agreement that this approach would be taken, as I understood it. I was present with Mr Moore at the time. I understood that we were going to separate the question of four-year terms from October elections.

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