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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 6 Hansard (22 June) . . Page.. 1616 ..

MR SPEAKER: Order! Settle down. I cannot hear the Chief Minister. Order, please.

MS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It shows categorically that the precedents in this place go both ways. In some circumstances the Assembly has adjourned and in others fairly obviously it has not. Obviously Mr Kaine did not. Also, Mr Berry, who did not move for an adjournment either, did not believe that it was unconstitutional to continue to sit back in 1990. Mr Speaker, I think that blows that whole argument right out of the water.

Mr Speaker, I would like to circulate for the information of members - I think it has been circulated - the legal opinion with regard to the Mental Health (Treatment and Care) (Amendment) Bill which outlines the problems that Mr Moore raised in his speech about very fundamental issues that face this Assembly if we do not pass it by the end of the financial year. Mr Speaker, I will table that for the interest of members.

I think it is very important for members who are contemplating which way to go with this legislation to look at the pieces of legislation that are on the table and the business that we will be embarking upon over the next week. Some of those pieces of legislation are obviously very important and they probably would be handled in exactly the same way no matter who is in government in this place. So any comments that Mr Stanhope may have made that we cannot do any of the business in the next week simply because there might be a change of government next week fall very flat, just on the basis of logic. It is also very interesting, Mr Speaker, that Mr Stanhope now does seem to accept that a no-confidence motion in me as Chief Minister is actually a no-confidence motion in the Government and that there could be, or would be, a change of government if that motion got up. He now seems to admit that, as he said that in his speech, Mr Speaker.

Mr Stanhope: Well, nobody is standing. None of you are standing. I didn't until you all bailed out.

MR SPEAKER: Order, please!

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I have not interjected at all during this debate.

MR SPEAKER: I know. I am well aware of that, Chief Minister. A little bit of courtesy, please.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I will come back to summing up the debate from our side. There are a number of pieces of legislation that are essential to the people of Canberra, and in one case particularly, the Financial Sector Reform (ACT) Bill, essential to Australia for the financial basis of this country. On top of that there are a number of other pieces of legislation, such as the gaming machine legislation with regard to the Casino Surveillance Authority, and rates and land tax legislation that must go through, again regardless of which side of the house we are on. I think it is essential, Mr Speaker, that we take into account what we are doing here, and that is serving the people of Canberra and ensuring that we do the right thing by the community. I have to say that passing the mental health legislation, ensuring that the Financial Sector Reform Bill goes through, ensuring that we do have a Casino Surveillance Authority, and ensuring that we do have a revenue base for this Territory so that we can provide such

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