Page 3705 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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position and characterises their opponents’ political position in a particular way, and a member takes offence at that, they can be censured in this place. For goodness sake, we are politicians. We are politicians and we make political points.
Mr Hanson: So when I accused the Minister for Health of a cover-up, I would not expect a letter from the department head, by your rationale, would I, Mr Corbell?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Le Couteur): Mr Hanson, please! Mr Corbell, please continue.
MR CORBELL: Thank you, Madam Assistant Speaker. There are plenty of times in this place when I am sure members of the government have felt that their position has been grossly misrepresented by members of the opposition and members of the Greens. In fact, it is a daily occurrence. But we do not run into this place and seek to have the record corrected or to censure a member because we feel that our political position has been misrepresented.
That is exactly what is happening today and it is an absurd use of the Assembly’s powers and the Assembly’s time. If it is going to be the case every time a member feels offended because their political position has been misrepresented, we will not be doing anything else in this place except moving censure motions and demanding apologies. For heaven’s sake, I feel it is an absurd position.
On top of that, we have the amendment proposed by Ms Bresnan which calls on the minister to do certain things and then, in what I have to say is an unprecedented position on the part of this Assembly, suggest that the Speaker should intervene in what is a political dispute between the opposition and the government and express a view on behalf of the Assembly. I find that position quite extraordinary as well.
Clearly this motion is going to pass today. The government will not be supporting the motion or the amendment. And the simple reason for that, as I have just said, is that this is a dispute between two political parties about the political position of one vis-a-vis the other. It is as simple as that.
It would appear that the new reality is that, if a member of the opposition takes offence about how their political position is being characterised, that warrants a censure of the minister. I would simply say to members that, if that is the new position that is being adopted, the government also—and I say this to the crossbench in particular—will look forward to your support; we will look forward to the crossbenchers’ support when we move motions in this place holding to account the misrepresentation of the government’s position by other members in this place, because that is the standard that is being set today. Quite frankly, it is an absurd standard; it is an incredibly low bar; and it is an absurd position to adopt.
Opposition members interjecting—
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Members of the opposition, please! Mr Corbell, please continue.
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