Page 480 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 13 March 2007
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suburb with a relatively high percentage of ageing people because of its history and the time of its establishment. Going from the number of people who are still writing to me about that, libraries are really important to seniors, not just as a place of learning and finding information but as a place for meeting people and having daily contact. I have to say that some of the changes we see taking place in libraries, where people have to check out their books themselves on a machine, reduce that potential for contact. For those of us who probably feel sometimes we see too many people in a day, it is probably difficult to understand what it is like not to have anybody speak to you face to face.
Finally, I believe the ACT government was conducting a wide-ranging review of concessions between 2002 and 2004 and that that has stopped. I have a motion on the notice paper about reinstating that review and preparing a guide, with the federal government, on all concessions that are available to ACT residents, which, of course, would include senior citizens. At the moment it is a little bit of a bewildering array, and I think it is very important for people to know what they are entitled to. What is the use of having a whole lot of fantastic facilities and measures that we have heard about today if people do not know about them?
MR SPEAKER: The discussion is concluded.
Mr Stefaniak: Mr Speaker, as I arranged earlier, I wish to raise a point of order. At the start of the debate on the motion of want of confidence in the Chief Minister on 28 February 2007 you advised members of certain things. I have written to you about it and you have written back to me today and asked me to do certain things, which I now do to bring it to members’ attention.
On 28 February prior to the debate you advised members that “standing order 54 requires that members may not use offensive words against any member of the judiciary”. You also pointed to section 14 of the Judicial Commissions Act 1994, which states:
A member of the Legislative Assembly must not raise in the Assembly a matter that relates or may relate to the behaviour or physical or mental capacity of a judicial officer—
(a) except by way of a motion to have a specific allegation made in precise terms in relation to the judicial officer examined by a judicial commission; and
(b) unless the member has given to the Attorney-General not less than 5 sitting days notice of the motion and the member has not been notified by the Attorney-General within that period in accordance with section 16 (2) that the Executive has been requested to appoint a commission to examine the allegation.
You asked members to be mindful of those matters during the debate. I draw your attention to certain comments made by the Chief Minister, the Attorney-General and Dr Foskey, and I would submit that all, some or parts of those comments were contrary to your advices and your request to the Assembly on 28 February 2007.
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