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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 09 Hansard (Tuesday, 17 August 2004) . . Page.. 3798 ..

response. Members opposite can prattle away as much as they like and it will not make the slightest iota of difference.

What has been the difference between this Assembly and the last one? This Chief Minister has made it a major portfolio. This Chief Minister has pushed it into the lounge rooms and the dining rooms of everybody in this town. Contrary to that inarticulate, uneducated rabble across there, I walk around the community in my electorate and I know them. I will pay the courtesy to the Leader of the Opposition—he does exactly the same thing. The only thing is, he does not know when to control his gob. That is the problem.

When I do, many members of the multicultural community come to me to say it is really nice to have our issues considered, it is nice to have them put into perspective, to be seen to celebrate the uniqueness and oneness of being Australian and the uniqueness of being Lao or Greek or Italian and celebrating that. It is down to this Chief Minister, who has put it on the agenda.

Mr Pratt says there are divisions in the multicultural council. Mr Pratt is a bit of a new boy on the block. There have been divisions in that council since Pontius was a trainee Pilate. It is going to happen long after you have gone. That is because you and your Liberal cronies keep stoking the fire. Mr Pratt, why do you not try to control them and have them put the interests of the multicultural community above their own grandiosity? That would not be a bad start. When you talk about this Chief Minister’s involvement with international affairs—

MR SPEAKER: Order! Members will be quiet while Mr Hargreaves continues with debate.

MR HARGREAVES: While this bloke over here rants and raves about the international state, this Chief Minister is getting on with it. This Chief Minister has looked after your human rights, Mr Pratt, and Lord knows you do not deserve it. This lad over here deserves none of the protections that this Chief Minister has delivered. I ask, why is it so? Because he has the temerity to come in here and push the case against David Hicks. We in this country believe that a person should not be convicted unless he has had a fair trial. You do not hang someone before they are found guilty.

Guilt by association would have had this little man in jail for the rest of his days. But no, who fought for his freedom? It was people who used that rule and said give the guy a fair go. What happens? You cannot apply the same thing to David Hicks. Well, shame on you, Mr Pratt, shame on you. You do not deserve to stand in this Chief Minister’s shadow, and I am prepared to stand here and say so.

VISACT

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (10.15): I bring to the attention of members VISACT, which is the ACT’s organisation that wants to develop sporting opportunities for blind or vision impaired people and which has been finalising a number of plans for a tenpin bowling league in the ACT. ACT vision impaired bowlers do very well. Matthew Artis, VISACT’s president, won the AMF’s Treasure Island XXX competition on Sunday 6 August at Belconnen, in your electorate, Mr Speaker. Bowling in his first

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