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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4917 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

What we have here is a letter from Professor Pettit where there is an embarrassment. I can understand that embarrassment. I will support the motion of Mrs Carnell. I will oppose the amendment put by Mr Berry because I think this is an appropriate opportunity and appropriate timing to have this review and to report fairly soon into the new Assembly, so that those of us who are here - if we are fortunate enough to be re-elected, if indeed it is the will of the people - will have the opportunity to look at those things and see what we can do to implement an even better system of government. It seems to me that this Assembly and the people of Canberra are very fortunate to have the talents of Professor Pettit, a world-renowned philosopher. I look forward to that report and to seeing where I can be involved in implementing what is in that report.

MR OSBORNE (11.42): I rise to support Mrs Carnell's motion, Mr Speaker, and I will not be supporting the amendment of Mr Berry. Mr Speaker, if ever anybody has nothing to do on a sitting day in Canberra, they should try this: Go up to the House of Representatives and watch the proceedings. Let me give you a word of advice. Do not go during question time. Take in some of the other sittings. You should not find it too hard to get a seat, although the visitors gallery will generally be more crowded than the chamber. Believe me; you will not "feel the power of Canberra". You will probably see a single Australian Associated Press journalist in the press gallery and a mostly empty parliament. While this pathetic spectacle is played out, the country is being run behind the closed doors of the Ministers' offices. The image is disturbing for those who have eyes to see. What it says is that parliament has become an irrelevance. The action hots up briefly at question time, when the press gallery and the Government come out of their offices and descend on the chamber for an hour of theatre. When it is finished, the chamber quickly empties again, returning to its naturally inconsequential state.

Under changes implemented by the Keating Government, even question time was downgraded. Ministers and the Prime Minister were not subjected to daily scrutiny, but turned up on a roster system. It was another sad blow to our system of government and was all the more disgraceful because it came from a party that claims to represent the little people. Of course, it barely raised a stir in the press gallery, as they were off chasing gossip from their sources in Cabinet.

The chamber of the House of Representatives should be the centre of our democracy; but, after decades of assault on it by the two-party system - by the two old parties - it has been all but gutted of power. Almost all power now rests with executive government. The same is true in State and Territory parliaments around Australia. This country and this city are not democracies. We are ruled by the oligarchy of Cabinet governments. Parliament is simply there to provide the appearance of representation. To be fair, it is a little different here in Canberra. By way of our electoral system, we have never had a majority government in the Territory. Happily, there seems no likelihood of it in the near future. Debates in this Assembly do mean something. Government legislation can go down or be significantly amended. In this way, our system sees a much more powerful parliament than that which operates up on the hill. However, Cabinet - the Executive - still reigns supreme. The real power in any system comes with the control of the purse strings and the bureaucracy, and the Executive in the ACT has that locked up.

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