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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 11 Hansard (19 October) . . Page.. 3257 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

There are many areas that are not actual Liberal Party policy on which we do not actually have policy statements put forward by conventions. If we do not have those directions, then in many cases we have a capacity to reflect directly our views and the views of our constituents. That is what Hare Clark is about, Mr Speaker. You know that; Mr Moore knows that; Mr Hird knows that. But those opposite do not. It is very interesting for members of the crossbench to listen to those comments from Mr Stanhope. What it shows is that there is no capacity within the Labor Party to bend, no capacity to work out ways that could be collaborative or collegiate in this place. The view is: "This is what we believe. This is what we'll all believe. Nobody will step outside that belief or policy structure, thank you very much, regardless of what you think".

That is just bad leadership and bad government but everybody to their own, Mr Speaker. We have got our views and I have to say they have been extremely successful.

Mr Stanhope: Your views are about trashy process. It is another process trashed.

MR SPEAKER: Order, please!

Mr Stanhope: Not too keen on process, Chief Minister.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Stanhope, you have spoken already.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, this drug strategy, From Harm to Hope, is something I know all members of this Government - you and Mr Hird and Mr Stefaniak - are all very proud of. There are actually only two issues that we do not all agree on.

Mr Stanhope: We will have a convenience vote.

MS CARNELL: This is actually an important area and it is unfortunate that Mr Stanhope does not think so. There are many strategies and this is - - -

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope! You have spoken already. In fact, you have spoken for 15 minutes. Let the Chief Minister, please, complete the debate.

MS CARNELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. What we have got here is a strategy, not a piece of legislation, that for the first time brings together everything from housing; how we address accommodation issues for people with drug problems. It is not just people in the illicit drug end of the spectrum, it is people with alcohol problems, people with tobacco problems, all sorts of things - prescription drug problems. We are addressing everything from policing to housing, to education, to the health issues that are involved, plus the broader community issues, in one document that was heavily researched, consulted on, and brings together under its purview a significant number of other drug policies related to individual portfolio areas.

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