Page 4028 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 13 December 2006
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MR CORBELL: I am simply making the point that whenever a censure motion has been moved against a minister in this place the government has always granted permission for that to occur. It has always done that. I am now in a position where I have to suspend standing orders to provide for that motion to be moved. When the boot is on the other foot, when serious questions must be answered by opposition members, they fail to allow this Assembly to move directly to the motion and we have to go through the procedural process that we are now debating this morning.
What is good for the goose is good for the gander. When it comes to the issue of whether or not a member should be censured in this place, opposition members should permit the motion to be debated forthwith. Instead we are going through a procedural process that the government has never put in place when a censure motion has been moved by opposition members.
In the last week of sitting a censure motion was moved against my colleague Mr Hargreaves. Opposition members sought leave to move that motion and the government granted them leave to do so. Why are opposition members not prepared to do the same thing now? What do they have to hide? Why are they so defensive in relation to this issue? We are prepared to debate these substantive matters.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR CORBELL: We are prepared to deal with censure motions and no-confidence motions. Why are opposition members not prepared to do so? Why do we have to go through this process of suspending standing orders so that we can move a censure motion against an opposition member?
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR CORBELL: If opposition members want to withdraw their objection to the granting of leave I will withdraw this motion and we can move directly to debating the censure motion. It appears that opposition members are not prepared to withdraw their objection to the granting of leave. Instead, they are forcing the government to suspend standing orders this morning to move a motion that should be given precedence in this place. Censure motions have always been given precedence in this place.
Mr Stanhope: They always have been.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
MR CORBELL: Last week the Liberal Party, without any notice, moved a motion of censure against Mr Hargreaves. We accepted it and got on with debating it straightaway.
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