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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 846 ..
MR KAINE (continuing):
Bill. So trying to somehow amend this motion, which is really nothing more than a machinery motion to allow the Minister to do what he is already empowered to do under the Act, once we pass it, is merely an impediment which in my view would have no weight.
Mr Quinlan: So you are not going to pass the Bill tonight?
MR KAINE: Once we pass the Bill, and we will, qualifiers on how far the Minister can go in exercising his functions under section 11 of the Act would be void. So I do not support this amendment because in my view it has no value. It has no effect. Once we pass the Bill we cannot constrain the Minister in the way that Mr Quinlan is now proposing.
I think Mr Quinlan ought to read the Bill which he chose not to debate cognately with this motion, because if he reads the Bill he will see that he cannot qualify the power of the Minister in this way simply by a resolution. The Bill, when we pass it and when the Chief Minister signs it into law, will override this motion and this qualification to the motion. I think the Labor Party have allowed themselves to be sidetracked by their ideological predisposition to the whole notion, saying "We oppose everything, we amend everything". In fact, this amendment will have no effect at the end of the day. For that reason, I will not support it.
Mr Quinlan: So you are going to pass the Bill tonight as well?
MR KAINE: I am going to pass the Bill, aren't you? I thought you said you were going to pass the Bill tonight, Ted. That is what you told me.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Kaine, are you moving your amendment at this point?
MR KAINE: I thought we were dealing with section (1) of Mr Quinlan's amendments.
MR SPEAKER: We are dealing with both actually, Mr Kaine.
MR KAINE: My amendment deals with section (2).
MR SPEAKER: Yes, but Mr Quinlan has moved both amendments together. He had leave to move both.
MR KAINE: Sorry, I did not realise we had moved on to that. Mr Speaker, I move the amendment circulated in my name to Mr Quinlan's second amendment. My amendment reads:
Omit amendment No. 2 and substitute the following amendment:
After the words "Australian Gas Light Company." add the words "The Assembly notes the offer from AGL and ACTEW jointly to 'provide fulsome reports on progress of the negotiations to the Assembly' and 'to appear before relevant committees to answer questions', and confirms that it will avail itself of the assistance offered".
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