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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 9 Hansard (7 September) . . Page.. 2982 ..

Mr Stanhope: What are you doing about that, Harold?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, again, I heard Labor members in silence.

MR SPEAKER: Order, please! Will you stop asking questions, Mr Stanhope?

Mr Stanhope: I was speaking to Harold.

MR SPEAKER: Well, go and talk to him privately.

MR HUMPHRIES: The fact is, Mr Speaker, that those opposite have no compunction about burying the commissioner for parliamentary ethics, yet now they say that they are concerned about ethical behaviour in the parliament. That is just absolute nonsense.

Mr Corbell said they were not suggesting that the bar be lower; they think the bar should be raised. We are maintaining that the bar should stay where it has always been understood to be, and in fact it has been acted to be, consistently for the last six years. No more, no less, Mr Speaker.

I think it is important to view the Labor Party's behaviour in light of the way in which they have put forward the amendments which they have before the house today. I note that these amendments were produced by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel yesterday at 10.30 in the morning. Apparently they were made available some time shortly after that to those opposite. Surprise, surprise; today they were received by those on this side of the house for consideration in this house today. Now, what does it say about the sincerity of those opposite that they move for these vitally important amendments to raise the standard of parliamentary ethics and they sit on them for 24 hours without putting them up for members on this side of the house to see?

What we have here, Mr Speaker, is a complete lack of sincerity on the Labor Party's part. They table these amendments a day after they receive them after they have already shown them to some of the crossbench, we understand. They put them on the table for others to see today, three pages of complex amendments, knowing that the bill has to be dealt with today, and they expect to be taken seriously in this matter. Mr Speaker, I think this is sheer hypocrisy on the Labor Party's part, and I think members should see it for what it is. I urge members to support the government's bill.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Clause 1.

Debate (on motion by Mr Osborne ) adjourned.

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