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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 10 Hansard (14 October) . . Page.. 3170 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

Today we have a new proposal and we have new opponents. Interestingly, the opponents differ, depending on the project. Often it is very much a localised issue. There are odd people in the community who take up the issue no matter where it occurs, but they are limited in number. Predominantly, when people take exception and oppose a development project, it is the people who live nearby and are most directly affected by it.

What is different about this project? Mr Wood has attempted to make a difference. I think he is stretching the point a bit. I will come to that in a minute. This issue is no different in principle to many others we have dealt with in this place over the last 10 years. The only difference this time is that the Labor Party and the Greens have taken it up as a political cause, which is very interesting, since most of the projects that have been subject to disputation over the last 10 years have been at times when the Labor Party has been in government. One has to ask what the motive for their taking up this issue is.

I believe that Mr Corbell and the Opposition are in error in pursuing the line they are taking, because one day they are going to be in government and Mr Corbell is going to be the Minister. He will then find out the reality of having to deal with issues like this as opposed to sitting on the opposition benches and merely criticising the Government or others for what they do. This is, if you like, an attack by the Opposition and the Greens on the Government. Their target is wrong. Because of the constitution of government in this Territory in the last 10 years, it is not the Government, at the end of the day, that makes decisions about these matters; it is this place.

There is a process. The culmination of that process is that the matter ends up here, just as this one has. It is this place in its totality - all of us - that makes the decision, not just the four or five members of the Executive or the six or seven members of the Government. If the Opposition believes that this is the Opposition attacking the Government, I have news for them. This is the Opposition attacking the legislature. They got their target wrong. The Government really does not have control of issues like this. It is this Assembly collectively that has control. We have to decide, not the Government. It is a minority government. How many times in the last couple of years has the minority government found, to its sorrow, that it does not make the decisions when the matter becomes controversial.

The question is: Whom is this move directed towards? On this matter, it is this place - all 17 of us collectively - that is charged with acting in the public interest. Therefore, it was of some concern to me earlier in the day when one member's contribution to the debate was: "I have not made up my mind. I am waiting for the other members of the Assembly to convince me". That is not what we are paid for. We are paid to come in here and represent the community. If we cannot come into a debate like this, a very controversial one, and take a stand then why are we here? We simply cannot shirk our responsibility in that way and leave it to the others to deal with a controversial matter. Some people think that somehow they are getting off the hook by so doing.

I have said there is nothing different about this project. I do not believe there is. There is nothing different about the scenario. There are always different views, strongly held. There is always debate as to whether the course of action proposed is the right course of

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