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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1901 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

ought to be able to have that opportunity. If indeed the outcome of the vote is the way it was before, then that is entirely appropriate. If the outcome of the vote-

Mr Corbell: This is an extraordinary precedent.

MR MOORE: It is not an extraordinary situation.

Mr Corbell: It is. It is absolutely extraordinary.

Mr Stanhope: It is a subversion of the democratic process.

MR MOORE: It is a reality. The reality is that sometimes there will be re-votes on things. I certainly remember, Mr Corbell-you may not, it may well have been before your time-when this Assembly passed legislation on medicinal cannabis as was mentioned before by Mr Humphries. A week later the vote was taken because some people had changed their mind and a different result occurred. I did not like it but I recognised the democratic process. It is exactly the same thing. Within a short time, a democratic process will allow 17 members to have their say on an amendment and then on a motion. That is what the suspension of standing orders is about, and it is a perfectly reasonable thing.

Mr Wood: That has to happen every time now, has it? There have to be 17 members here on every division?

MR MOORE: Mr Wood, if we had more cooperation between the government and the opposition we would have been able to manage an adjournment and this would not have happened. The real problem is the lack of cooperation. That is the real problem.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Settle down.

MR MOORE: I suggest you think about why we have such a lack of cooperation and who it is that is representing you to try to make these arrangements that are working so badly.

MR BERRY (10.48): Mr Speaker, I was approached by Mr Humphries. He said, "Would you agree with an adjournment?" and I said no. That is what you do when you don't agree with the other side. It is up to Mr Humphries then to go away and do whatever he wants to do from that point forward, as they do when the government has or has not got the numbers and it wants to test a vote. It goes away and moves in a certain direction. It is not up to me to gratify you with total agreement for every one of your proposals. I was aware that Mr Osborne had left the place. We don't engage in-

Mr Stanhope: You shouldn't-

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope! Stop talking over your colleague.

MR BERRY: It has been the case on other occasions that pairs have been arranged between the crossbenchers. I know there was an attempt by Mr Moore to arrange a pair which failed. What this is all about is this: the government just didn't have the numbers and now they are bleating about not even having made the attempt.

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