Page 600 - Week 03 - Thursday, 15 March 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
That is how serious this is. It is confetti—a confetti motion. Another working day. “What can we do today to not do any work?” the Liberal party say. We know that they do not like that; they do not like the real stuff. They do not like work. They do not like making policy.
We have seen it this week. We have seen it again this week. Here we are in the middle of March, and there has been not a single question from the shadow minister for health about health—not a single question! Here we are halfway through March, and there has been not a single question on education by the shadow minister for education. What did she say yesterday when she was gently chided about not asking questions about education as the shadow minister? She said:
I would not waste my time asking questions … about education.
That is what she said yesterday.
Mr Pratt: Point of order! Mr Speaker, my point of order goes to relevance.
MR SPEAKER: The Chief Minister has criticised—
Mr Pratt: This is a vote of no confidence in Mr Corbell, not a vote of confidence in somebody else about education policy.
MR SPEAKER: The Chief Minister is being critical of the opposition for bringing this forward. He is putting that into context in the light of the opposition’s contribution. That is perfectly relevant.
MR STANHOPE: Absolutely, and quite rightly so. We need to go to why this motion was moved today. This motion was moved today—
Mr Pratt: Because you are incompetent.
MR STANHOPE: It is the second no-confidence motion in two weeks. It is a confetti motion—a motion moved by an opposition which has no substance, which has no policies and which has no commitment to any of its portfolio responsibilities. We have a shadow minister for health who is yet to ask a question on health. We have a shadow minister for education who is yet to ask a question on education—to the point where yesterday she interjected that she would not waste her time asking questions about education. That is how significant and serious the issue of education is for the opposition.
Yesterday we had the embarrassing spectacle of the shadow minister for emergency services trying to ask a question about the budget. The shadow treasurer asked a question about health because the shadow treasurer was concerned that the shadow minister for health was not asking any questions about health; he thought that at least he would go to an issue of some substance. The shadow treasurer asked a question of the minister for health about health. He actually necked the shadow minister for health—actually relegated him to the backbench, with the support of all of his colleagues. Then we saw the shadow minister for emergency services stumbling
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .