Page 2108 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 August 2006
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has led me to ask: what is this thing called cabinet solidarity? By what convention does it override party allegiance or, in the case of the ALP, faction allegiance? In this equation where do concerns for the good of the electorate fit in? On that Saturday ministers felt bound to vote with their faction.
Mrs Dunne: Ms MacDonald did not. She shafted her faction.
DR FOSKEY: I accept that Mrs MacDonald did not. I imagine she was voting as a result of her passion and concern for schools not just in her electorate but also all over Canberra. On that Saturday it was not a cabinet meeting; it was a party meeting. This is ALP business. I do not believe the Liberals would appreciate a similar vote if they were in the shoes of this government. The Labor Party’s arcane laws have always mystified me. I imagine that thinking ALP members must be in constant conflict, always wondering what level of allegiance to obey.
Ms Dunne: Thinking ALP members?
DR FOSKEY: I specified thinking ALP members. I am sure some ALP members do not have any conflicts but I will not say why I think that might be the case. We do not know what Mr Corbell and Mrs Gallagher really think about the motion for which they voted that day. They said publicly that when they were not at a party conference they would adhere to cabinet solidarity so when they speak with passion in favour of school closures and a nonsensical restructure we will not know what they really believe. Whichever way we look at it, five out of nine is a majority. I hope at least one of those five members of the ALP has the power of his or her convictions to vote for my bill when it comes before the Assembly.
MR MULCAHY (Molonglo) (11.13): I support my colleague’s motion and encourage the Assembly to support a want of confidence motion in both the Deputy Chief Minister, Ms Gallagher, and the Attorney-General, Mr Corbell. This is a serious matter. It is not a decision the opposition made lightly to bring this matter before the Assembly.
Ms Gallagher: No. Who rang the ABC?
MR MULCAHY: Ms Gallagher is dismissive and contemptuous of these serious matters. Through her approach she shows the cavalier disregard she has for her role as a member of the cabinet of the territory. I will remind her shortly of some of the words spoken in this place by Mr Stanhope before I became a member of parliament. He was sanctimonious and forthright about the role of cabinet ministers. Members of the Labor Party want to revisit Mr Moore’s experience. I say to Minister Gallagher: if that was the position, why has it changed in her case?
I do not accept what Dr Foskey said earlier, that is, that when ALP members go to a Labor Party conference all the rules go out the door. The conduct of these ministers shows a profound lack of regard and respect for the Westminster system, on which our whole system of parliamentary democracy relies. As Mr Stefaniak pointed out, one of these conventions is the principle of collective ministerial responsibility. An underlying principle of Westminster government is that the executive meets in secret and speaks with one voice. The ACT government cabinet handbook, which was released in April 2002, makes it clear. It states at paragraph 2.1:
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