Page 1316 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 August 1989
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matter is, Mr Speaker, that when people write the history of this first Assembly they will note that a lot flowed that day, within minutes of that blow being dealt to the Rally.
We came into this chamber and something was afoot. That, of course, grievously wounded the Deputy Chief Minister and others. Events happened that afternoon that may well have been excused in other circumstances.
Mr Speaker, the two-year trial of this Act should allow the community to participate in the overview and the surveillance of the police use of the power. The police should take note that there is not, in any way, a fiat being given to them to move along people who look different and young people whose lifestyle is differing particularly. The police commissioner should note that the young people, above all, are wary of this power. I might add that my own children expressed that view unanimously, regrettably.
Finally, the committee proposes to debate further its recommendations to ensure that there is a reporting on the use of the Bill. As to the Chief Minister's comments about the community service order aspect, I of course agree with them. It was debated by Mr Stefaniak and me in committee, and we were aware that that argument could perhaps be taken. I applaud Mr Stefaniak for agreeing to the amendment.
MR KAINE (Leader of the Opposition) (11.18): Mr Speaker, I intend to be quite brief in my comments on this matter, and I do not intend to use up my 10 minutes just because it is there. I hope that the debate on this issue is now concluded, or almost concluded. I believe that it was a very simple Bill in the first place, that could have been put into place within five minutes of its being placed on the table in this house. It has been turned into a major issue; it has been misrepresented; it has been built up out of all proportion to what was intended; and it has developed into a lengthy debate over what was essentially a very simple issue - which almost everybody in this house now acknowledges. After all of this time, everybody is unanimous that this is a Bill aimed at protecting the minority out there who were being harassed by a bunch of louts. And that is all that it was about. We have put up with all of this delay, using the time of this Assembly over what I regard as an absolutely pointless and unproductive debate. Now I hope we are at the end of it.
Mr Speaker, now that we have got to this point of a Bill that has been agreed to - and in effect it is very little changed from the time that it was first placed on the table in this house - and now that we have finally agreed to put it into place, it disturbs me greatly to hear members of this Assembly saying that we are going to be watching the police. The implication is that that police force out there is somehow set on some subversive act and that we elected members of the Assembly have got to spend our time
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