Page 284 - Week 01 - Thursday, 16 February 2012
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Mr Hargreaves gets paid to be the government whip. With that come responsibilities to not just manage affairs but to ensure that standards are maintained in the way in which we conduct our business in this place and the way in which we present to the community. When those members of the community who have not yet listened to the debate online through Daily on Demand hear about this, they will be pretty outraged by what was said. It is unfortunate that when the Hansard comes out you will not get the tone and the sense of the way it was delivered, because the vehemence in it and the delivery is also part of the whole attack.
We come back in here after dinner sometimes and some of the things that happen I think are quite disgraceful. But I have never, ever seen anything like this, and I do not think I would like to see anything like this ever again. It is time that we enforce a standard. If this is the way the election year is going to go, in ever-increasing circles to get to the bottom, that is a very bad indication of how we see ourselves and how we see this place.
Politicians continue to be held in disrepute by the community, and I think we all get that, but this sort of behaviour does not do any of us any good and it does not reflect well on any of us. Indeed, Mr Speaker, you might like to have a look at some of the things that were said as to whether or not they were unparliamentary as well. But that is such small fish on the scale of things that it is a matter for you that you might take up.
The problem here is that this reflects on a community group funded by the government. It is a community group charged through their own charter with standing up for their community and representing their views. It is a community group that the government accept do that job well because they fund them to assist them to do that job. It is a community group made up of younger people, older people, retired people, working people, people representing environmental interests, people representing business interests, people representing various areas in the electorate—whether it be south-east Tuggeranong or whether it be Kambah people—people with an interest in the amenity of their city, people with an interest in furthering their part of the city, people who volunteer.
How many times, Ms Porter, have we heard you speak about supporting volunteers? I expect you, Ms Porter, to stand up for the volunteers of the Tuggeranong Community Council and vote for this motion. It would be hypocrisy of the highest order to say that we honour volunteers but we will not vote for this motion. How many motions have we had on volunteers day when we all honour volunteers? This is a group of volunteers who have got this flogging from Mr Hargreaves when he is in his worked-up state after dinner.
I will read it again: “The shame of it all, however, Mr Speaker, is that he does go to that old persons club.” Well, that is ageist for a start. How do you feel about that, Chief Minister? Is it inappropriate for members to go to old persons clubs? We see the manager of government business down there on his knees begging the Greens not to vote for this.
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