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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (28 April) . . Page.. 98 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Anyway, I looked at Hansard for something that Mr Osborne might have said. I must say that I was searching for something that I might be able to use to embarrass him about the issue, but I could find nothing. He made no contribution to the debate, so I rather think that he never read the report. Perhaps that is why he thinks it was his idea. It was certainly around before these issues were put forward by Mr Osborne. This idea then was talked about by Mr Moore, and he comprehensively bagged this sort of community process. I am rather curious to discover why it is now a better idea. When it was put forward in the Governing Canberra report and analysed by the Canberra Times, as far as I can make out from the debate it was discarded by the government of the time. Mr Moore, quite appropriately, said in relation to the report:

The report is fundamentally flawed.

That is a fairly strong statement. He continued:

It proposes that Assembly committees match agencies. That recommendation may be worth looking at. I think that it will not achieve what people are trying to achieve. It will just make the committees reactive to government - - -

Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. I understand that Mr Berry is speaking to the motion that the question be divided.

MR BERRY: Indeed.

MR SPEAKER: Correct.

Mr Moore: This has no relevance at all to the motion that the question be divided. The question is whether it is suitable for us to take the first couple of points first, and then the others. What Mr Berry is doing is completely and totally irrelevant.

MR BERRY: No, it is not irrelevant at all, Mr Moore.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, I have been listening. I would draw your attention to Mr Moore's comments and ask you to be relevant.

MR BERRY: Let me tie it together. I will try to tie it together.

MR SPEAKER: Yes.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, we are about to divide on these two issues - that is, the matters which I have put forward in relation to the Environment Committee, the Planning Committee, the Public Accounts Committee and the Scrutiny of Bills Committee. These have to be looked at in the entire context of the debate. Yes, I have already spoken in relation to the matter, that is true; but these are important issues. The point I make, Mr Speaker, is that Michael Moore said that they were bad once but they are good now.

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