Page 3152 - Week 15 - Thursday, 14 December 1989
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MS FOLLETT: I repeat, Mr Speaker, that the committee membership we were presented with yesterday quite clearly reduces the size and reduces the representativeness of those committees because there are two Government members to every one non-Government member. Mr Speaker, I really cannot believe that members opposite cannot work that out for themselves. It is blatantly apparent.
But my point, Mr Speaker, is - and I respect Mr Collaery's remarks - if it is the intention of the Government to consult upon the committee structure, why do they not do so? Why attempt today, by sheer weight of numbers, to ram through the edict that we were presented with last night? If it is their intention, as has been so piously put forward, to consult in a real way - and consultation means getting other people's views, not just putting forward your own - if they really wanted to consult, why are they ramming this through today? I cannot see any reason for it, especially as Mr Collaery has also said that the edict they are proposing is in fact a temporary measure.
I know and you know, Mr Speaker, that the committee structure has been under review. When I was Chief Minister I wrote to all parties with a proposal for a committee structure, and I believe you, Mr Speaker, were the only person who responded to that proposed structure. You put forward what I considered to be quite a constructive outline of the nature of committees and how they might perform their work in the Assembly. That review of the Assembly committee structure has not been completed. We have not heard from the members opposite as to what their view is. All we have heard is the edict from on high, that this will be the committee structure under the Liberal coalition Government. They will reduce the size, stack the numbers, and put their own people in charge.
I do not believe that that adequately reflects the excellent work that has been done by Assembly committees to date and I do not believe that it adequately reflects the composition of this Assembly, where, as Mr Whalan has pointed out, there are three groups sitting opposite the Government - not one, but three. I do not believe it is either fair or truly representative of the membership of this Assembly that the Government should have two members of every committee to one member from other groups. That is not democracy. That is not collegiate or participative style of work. That is, as I say, an edict from the Government that the committees will work the way they want them to and nobody else is to be consulted, other than to be told what their decision is. That has been the extent of consultation.
If, as Mr Collaery says, they really do want to consult, why push it through today? I cannot see any reason for this motion proceeding today, Mr Speaker, and I would urge members opposite to vote against it. There is no need to do it. If they really want to set up an effective and participative committee structure, we do not need to do it
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