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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 2972 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (6.01): I have to say that I oppose this motion. I appreciate that there are pressures placed on staff of this place - people who work very hard, for long hours, to support members. However, it is also very clear to me that we have been sitting for two weeks and that very little Government business has been done in those two weeks.

Mr Berry: It is not our problem.

MR HUMPHRIES: It is your problem, because most of the delay has been caused by you - particularly you personally, Mr Berry. Mr Speaker, it is the Government's desire to push on with this as much as possible. We are beginning to make some headway here. We have now passed two Bills - which is a record, I think, for a day so far this fortnight - and we would like to pass a few more.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal statement, pursuant to standing order 46.

MR SPEAKER: Yes.

Mrs Carnell: If you have time to do this, you will sit through.

MR BERRY: You should not provoke it by making untrue statements. Mr Speaker, Mr Humphries just accused me of delaying the business of this house. He has offered no substantiation for this claim. I just want to make it clear that that is quite untrue.

MR MOORE (6.03): I take the point that Mr Corbell has raised; but I must say that the reason we have got to this stage, as far as I am concerned, has been the approach taken by Labor today. They realised that there was a full program - - -

Ms McRae: When?

MR MOORE: However, I take the point, anyway.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (6.03): Mr Speaker, Assemblies work only if there is a bit of goodwill existing on the floor. It would have been easy enough for us to push ahead with the gaming legislation earlier today when Mr Berry was not here. But, even after the absolutely ridiculous situation of Tuesday, we decided that it was in the nature of good government to allow the people involved to actually be present for that Bill. Those opposite filibustered.

I understand that Mr Humphries went and spoke to a number of people with regard to pushing on, to allow people to do some of the things that they have committed to later on tonight. On that basis, Mr Speaker, in the interests of goodwill, I went upstairs, ordered pizzas for both sides of the house and for the attendants and so on, out of my budget - not that I mind at all, Mr Speaker - because, even though we will hopefully rise at half past eight or nine, in time for people to go and get some dinner or whatever, it really comes down to having some goodwill and some decency and accepting that there have to be agreements reached and people have to stick by them. That is all we are asking for.

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