Page 3035 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 5 December 1989
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Much has been made of stable government. I went to a meeting last Wednesday that was called by the Labor Party, and various speakers spoke on stable government. I even had the opportunity to say a few words myself. The suggestion is that, if the Labor Government remains in control, that would be stable government. Other people have suggested, with the new alliance, that that will be stable government. I suggest that neither would be stable government. There will never be a stable government in Canberra, in Australia, or anywhere else in the world until the people have a say in it.
MR WOOD: I wish to make a personal explanation. In responding to some of my statements, Mr Humphries has asked me to correct a statement that I had made which he claimed was wrong. I aim to be accurate in what I say, so I wish to acknowledge that a media statement I made, I think it was all of No. 2 of 1989, assumed far too much. In that statement I did say that I believed that Mr Kaine had Mr Stevenson's vote wrapped up. Following events in this chamber today and a conversation earlier with Mr Stevenson, I know that not to be the case. So I am willingly and humbly admitting that, and in that context I would also invite Mr Collaery to join in that sort of spirit.
MR WHALAN (Deputy Chief Minister) (5.09): Mr Speaker, the no-confidence motion before the house today is based on nothing more than a perceived new-found ability to count heads on the part of a couple of political opportunists. Clearly what it is not about is good government. This Labor Government came to office in what I would describe as the best of times and the worst of times. On the one hand, we were, and still are, a minority in this house. At that time, too, there was considerable scepticism in the community about self-government and about the ability of this house to provide a stable environment for rational decision making. The state of the ACT's finances was, to say the least, not promising and combined with a slowdown in business activity and an overheated national economy, our flexibility in the economic field was very much constrained.
Nevertheless, the opportunity confronting us was enormous. It is my view that the ACT is at a crossroads in its history. There are important choices confronting us, choices which will mean the difference between a role in either the mainstream or the backwater of Australian life, a choice between leadership and innovation, and mediocrity. In a way, it is the same choice facing the members of this Assembly today. Self-government for the ACT is the only way that the people of the ACT can actively participate in shaping the future of their Territory. Government means taking responsibility. It means making decisions for the betterment of all the people we represent, not just the special interest groups and power blocs who whinge the loudest.
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