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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1919 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Smyth. If the government wants to ridicule itself it is not for the opposition to prevent it from doing so, but it is up to us to try to bring some commonsense back into the argument when these sorts of crazy developments descend upon us.

Mr Speaker, this move by the government is completely in accordance with the standing orders but it demonstrates a level of frustration and fear from the government that I have never seen before. From the opposition's point of view one would get some joy out of that-to see the whites of the eyes of those opposite when they are in so much trouble over an issue which is of general concern, and an issue which in any other parliament in Australia would cause politicians attending to make sure that the matter was considered in the most formal and traditional way to ensure that the parliament was not drawn into disrepute.

Mr Moore: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. Right through this discussion Mr Berry has been breaching three standing orders. Standing order 52-

Mr Corbell: According to whose ruling, Mr Moore? Yours or the Speaker's?

MR SPEAKER: Just a moment, please.

Mr Moore: I am taking a point of order on three grounds, Mr Corbell, if you give me time. Mr Speaker, standing order 52, standing order 58 and standing order 62. Standing order 52 because he has constantly been reflecting on the vote of the Assembly we have just had, standing order 58 because he digressed from the question under discussion and has been talking instead about the previous vote, and standing order 62 because of tedious repetition of what he said just a little while ago. It was for this reason before that I moved that the question be put. Mr Speaker, I asked you to draw attention to staying with the debate.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, if you accept that argument I would have to go with a proposition to the Administration and Procedure Committee for a new standing order that members are prohibited from speaking in a different way and upsetting the government's position. I think the Administration and Procedure Committee would throw me out on that score.

MR SPEAKER: Relevance.

MR BERRY: Similarly, that point of order should be thrown out.

MR SPEAKER: Let us get back to the topic, please, Mr Berry. I do not uphold the point of order at this point, but I want you to get back to the topic and stay on it.

MR BERRY: Indeed, Mr Speaker. My understanding of dealing with these matters of privilege and the matter that faces us would suggest to me that it would be far better for this parliament to have a committee especially set up, once off, to deal with the issue. I think to lay this sort of a job on another committee is quite out of order. I cannot say it is out of order in the formal sense, but I think it is out of order in the moral sense because it does suggest that this matter of importance does not rate significantly enough for this parliament to push it off to a committee constructed so as to deal with this issue and to inform the community that we treat matters of privilege seriously.

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