Page 674 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 July 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
cheque probably had some underlying social reason for his or her action and is really to be pitied rather than blamed. Therefore we will not take any action on your problem". That is an unacceptable response. The only acceptable response is to do what we are proposing today, and I fully support that move.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister) (11.11): I have a number of objections to Mr Collaery's motion to appoint a select committee of this Assembly to look at the Bill. My first objection is the narrowness of the reference to this select committee. It is asking the committee to look at only the Bill that has been proposed by Mr Stefaniak. Contrary to what Mr Humphries has just said in calling me an outright liar, the Bill, as has been presented to this Assembly, addresses only the question of loitering and penalties for that offence. Am I correct or am I not?
Mr Humphries: That is correct.
MS FOLLETT: I am correct? I have not lied? Is that correct? That is correct.
Mr Humphries: It does not address demonstrating in streets or picketing public places.
MS FOLLETT: The Bill as it stands, Mr Speaker, addresses the question of loitering, undefined, and proposes penalties for that offence.
Mr Humphries: You saw the amendment to that on Tuesday night.
MS FOLLETT: The intentions that the Opposition may have had in amending its Bill and the intentions that the Residents Rally party may have had in backing away from that Bill have not been presented to this Assembly.
The Bill as it stands refers to loitering, undefined. I find that an extremely narrow approach to the social problems that it claims to address. We have heard repeatedly about people's fears of standing in bus shelters, people's fears of catching buses, people's fears of dark places in Canberra and people's fears of going out on their own. I have the greatest sympathy with those fears, and I want to address them.
The Bill does not address them. The Bill in no way provides for the greater public safety of Canberra's citizens. The Bill in no way would prevent or ameliorate any kind of street crime that has been described in such emotive terms by the members of the opposition. The Bill is narrow in its application; it is not specific, and it does not address the underlying problems.
If we look at the kind of committee, the select committee, that has been proposed to address this Bill, and only this Bill, we can see, I believe, Mr Speaker, that the terms of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .