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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2549 ..

MS TUCKER (4.29): I move:

That:

(1) The heading to Chapter II of standing orders be amended by omitting "Leader of the Opposition";

(2) Standing orders 5A and 5B be omitted; and

(3) Standing order 69(a) be amended by inserting "or" after "Minister" and omitting "or Leader of the Opposition".

I want to say, first of all, and get it really clear so that we do not have to listen to Mr Berry saying how this is personal, that this is not a motion against Mr Berry. I like Mr Berry. It is not a motion against Mr Whitecross. I like Mr Whitecross as well. This is something that we are doing to raise the issue - - -

Mr Berry: I do not believe you.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Ms Tucker, address your remarks to the Chair.

MS TUCKER: I am addressing my remarks to you, sir. I am just explaining to you that this is not personal. I hope I still like both of them at the end of the election campaign. There is certainly nothing personal in this motion; so let us hope we do not have to listen to Mr Berry insisting that there is. This was actually - - -

Mr Moore: When you announced it.

MS TUCKER: Yes. When we announced this motion Mr Berry was not the Leader of the Opposition, so I think that makes it quite clear, unless Mr Berry thinks it was personal against Mr Whitecross too. I am saying quite clearly it was not. This is actually about broader issues of how we work as a parliament. I will be very disappointed if the issue is not given serious consideration by the Labor Party. If they insist on saying that this is just about being personal and politicking they are showing quite clearly that they are not interested in the broader debate. This is about the anachronistic and inappropriate convention in this Assembly that there has to be a Leader of the Opposition. We did raise this issue some months ago, long before Mr Berry became the new Leader of the Opposition - - -

Mr Moore: Or anybody had even thought of it, apart from Wayne.

MS TUCKER: We do not know who would have thought of it then or not, Mr Moore. We would have raised it regardless of who was in opposition, and this is just as much directed to the Liberal Party as well. The Greens object strongly to the idea that there is a Leader of the Opposition in this Assembly. The Greens, along with the ALP,

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