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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2500 ..

Mrs Carnell: Like CIR?

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Humphries brought on the CIR Bill. You cannot blame us for that. You brought it on. You just did not like the outcome. You brought it on. We voted against it, and then you said, "That is not fair". It is not our fault that you brought it on. On this occasion Mr Moore has brought it on. Mr Berry is appealing to your sense of propriety - - -

Mr Berry: I would not waste my time.

MR WHITECROSS: Perhaps in a futile gesture he is appealing to Mr Humphries's sense of propriety to recognise the fact that he has had responsibility for this portfolio for only a week and that he ought to have a proper opportunity to get across the issues. It is a completely different issue from Mr Humphries calling on his Bill and getting rolled. Mr Humphries ought to know better than to remind everybody about that ignominious occasion. We are talking about the proprieties of the house. We are talking about the proper management of the house and appropriate standards of democratic behaviour. Mr Berry has had the portfolio for one week. He ought to have a proper opportunity to get across it.

If I can make one other point just to re-emphasise the importance of giving Mr Berry more time to think about it, let me say two things. The first is that the proposal being put by Mr Humphries in this amendment is a proposal which has never been canvassed with me. That is the first thing.

Mr Moore: What is a new proposal?

MR WHITECROSS: It is a new proposal. Mr Humphries's amendment is a new proposal which has never been canvassed with me or anyone else from the Australian Labor Party. Secondly, whenever Mr Humphries has raised the October date with me I have consistently said, "I have a problem because the Financial Management Act says that you do not have to bring down the budget until September. If you want to have an election in October, I want something done about the fact that the Financial Management Act says that you do not have to bring down a budget until 30 September. What is the Government going to do about that? You go back, Mr Humphries, and talk to the Treasurer, Mrs Carnell, and come back to us with a proposal on how you are going to deal with that". The Liberals have never come back to the Labor Party with a proposal on how to handle that matter.

I do not think that this is a fully thought through package. I am not criticising Mr Moore. We have all been in discussions about this; but, if you are going to force Mr Berry to vote on a matter now, when he has had one week to get across the issue, when you have introduced today a new proposal which has never been on the table before, when you still have not come back to us with a specific proposal about how to deal with the Financial Management Act, then I think you are showing your contempt for the democratic system. I think it is time that the Government grew up, stopped playing games on this and accepted their responsibility to make this house work in the interests

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