Page 2808 - Week 07 - Thursday, 7 June 2012
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Mr Hanson: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Would you stop the clock, please.
Mr Hanson: This is on Mrs Dunne’s speech and whether you can or cannot talk about attacking the Greens. It is hardly in accordance with the standing orders. Mr Hargreaves should be directly talking to the point as to whether we should be suspending standing orders or not. He needs to come to the point and be directly relevant and not debate the issue or, indeed, Mrs Dunne’s speech.
MR HARGREAVES: On the point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, I believe that it is quite within a member’s right to refute a position taken by a member opposite when they are pleading a particular case. And if in fact part of Mrs Dunne’s case for suspending standing orders was the ability to negotiate with the Greens, I am entitled to make comment on it.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think you are right, Mr Hargreaves, because Mrs Dunne pointed out that she thought that was a valid debating point at the time.
MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Madam Deputy Speaker. The reason I refer to that is that the Greens have been absolutely rigid in their position, over a number of years, in relation to the amount of notice people need to provide the Assembly before a motion is debated. Giving five minutes notice of a motion, which is out of the ordinary, is insufficient. Ms Hunter, Ms Bresnan and Ms Le Couteur have been absolutely consistent with this all the way through this Assembly. If you do not give enough notice for us to consider a motion, we will not suspend standing orders to allow it to be debated. That is the position that they are taking, and I do not think accusing them of not being able to negotiate with the opposition is acceptable at all.
Apparently there has been a discussion between the Liberals and the Greens around bringing this on again later this afternoon. In that case, I fail to see the urgency of bringing it on now. Perhaps it is because Mrs Dunne wants to get her speech done so that she can get some media on it. I do not believe that this Assembly should just accommodate that.
If this item is to be brought forward for debate later today, it can be dealt with later today. It should not be in two parts. There is no need for it to be in two parts. A member can stand in this chamber and seek leave to do anything they like, at any time they like. If leave is granted, it can then ensue. There is no reason to support standing orders to be suspended to allow Mrs Dunne to have a special position and put a case forward just so that she can make some mileage out of it. If the debate must ensue this afternoon, let it be in the context of everybody’s contribution. As I have indicated, the government will not be supporting the suspension.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (11.07): As Mrs Dunne said, the Greens were very surprised to find this motion this morning and it would have been very helpful had there been more notice given of it. Finding a motion 20 minutes before the Assembly is sitting is really, I think, unacceptable practice. It is not like something changed
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