Page 873 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2005
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irrespective of how they voted, irrespective of what their personal philosophical view is, irrespective of what their ideological view around industrial manslaughter legislation is, it passed through this parliament. It was passed on the floor of this house. It passed through this place, expressing the will of the people of Canberra.
Here we have another parliament, the other parliament operating in the other place in the ACT, exercising power that, yes, it does have under the Australian Constitution. But what is the issue? This is not a debate at this time about the industrial manslaughter legislation of the ACT; this is a debate around the rights of the people of the ACT to have responsibility, through their elected representatives, to govern, to manage, this territory and to govern and manage on behalf of all the people of this territory.
We have seen indications in the past of the commonwealth government flexing its muscle. We saw it—
Mr Smyth: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: under standing order 118 (b) the minister cannot debate the subject. He has actually already answered it. It is now either tedious repetition or debate. I ask you to bring him back to the subject.
MR SPEAKER: He has a couple of minutes left, according to the standing orders, to continue with the answer.
Mr Smyth: My point is that he has answered the question. He has said, yes, they do have the power. He is now having a general debate about things the federal government has done. That is in violation of standing order 118 (b).
MR SPEAKER: Ms MacDonald asked the question, and she is entitled to hear the entire answer.
Mr Smyth: But only if it is relevant.
MR SPEAKER: It is relevant to the question.
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. We have seen other instances. I think, most notably was the intervention by the commonwealth to override the euthanasia legislation of the Northern Territory—a law that did impact. It was the same person, of course. What a coincidence! We have seen it in relation to euthanasia and we have seen it, of course, in relation to other areas of progressive—
Mrs Dunne: I have a point of order. Under standing order 118 (a)—
Mr Pratt: It is permissible under the constitution.
MR SPEAKER: You are under warning, Mr Pratt.
Mrs Dunne: The question was about industrial relations and not—
MR SPEAKER: No, it wasn’t.
Mrs Dunne: It was about industrial relations and not about—
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