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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (10 July) . . Page.. 2424 ..
MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):
Westminster convention says that if the Budget is defeated, the government should go. That would hold in Britain, Canada, New Zealand and most Australian states.
The ACT is different. It has a detailed written constitution in the form of the Self-Government Act, an Act of the Federal Parliament. The single most important difference between the ACT and other Westminster systems is that we do not have a figurehead-a governor, governor-general, monarch or ceremonial president.
...
Kate Carnell is entitled to bat on as Chief Minister with her ministers until a majority of the Assembly votes her (as distinct from her Budget) down.
That is the reality of the position in the ACT. It is very different from the rule in other places.
Mr Kaine: What did he say 48 hours before, Mr Humphries? He changed his mind.
Mr Quinlan: Yes. What do you reckon about that?
MR HUMPHRIES: We have never said that if this budget went down the government would go down. If you can tell me where I have said that, Mr Quinlan or Mr Kaine, I would be very happy to be corrected; but I do not think you can quote that because it has not occurred.
We have heard from the opposition-Mr Quinlan, in fact-that this move by the Assembly was not blocking supply because this is the people's house and supply was blocked in 1975 in the states house, the Senate. My question is: so what? What difference does it make? The opposition and Independents or crossbenchers in the federal parliament in 1975 voted to block the government's budget, voted to block supply. In the year 2000, the opposition and the Independents voted together here to block the government's supply.
Mr Corbell: The whole point is that they didn't vote, Mr Humphries.
MR HUMPHRIES: What is the difference between those two situations?
MR SPEAKER: Order! Members of the opposition were heard in relative silence. Some of them were heard in complete silence. I expect the same courtesy to be shown to the Treasurer.
Mr Corbell: It would be good if the Treasurer knew his history.
MR SPEAKER: Watch yourself, Mr Corbell.
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Quinlan keeps telling us that we should be directing our comments to the crossbenchers; he keeps motioning down towards the crossbench. The fact is that what happened the week before last was a mistake by the Labor Party, a mistake described in an editorial in the Canberra Times as follows:
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