Page 362 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 1990
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MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Kaine. Please proceed, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: They are getting a bit toey on the other side. Anyway, I have only 20 seconds to go. There have been three terms of the Hawke Labor Government, and there will be a fourth. We will have a better system of self-government next time because we will be free, I am sure, of the No Self Government Party people - we will not see them again - we will not see the Abolish Self Government Coalition people again, and we will not see half of the Residents Rally people either.
Federal Election
MR MOORE (9.25): I rise to respond before the Liberal Party and its cohorts do so. I thought I would take an opportunity to express some concerns about those of us who hold the middle ground. One of the things that comes out of this Federal election, from which people in the ACT can draw a lesson, is the impact of single-member electorates. When we try to decide exactly how we should vote now, one of the things that is drawn to my attention, particularly in Fraser - and I will use that as an example - is that if we had single-member electorates we would be looking for two candidates who would serve the community best. Two people who have served our community for some time are John Langmore and Margaret Reid. They are in the Federal campaign, and both have served Canberra and their constituents extremely well. So if we were looking at single-member electorates and making the decision on the grounds that single-member electorate advocates suggest we do, the logical way to vote would be for both people. I believe they have done a very reasonable job.
Mrs Nolan: Michael, I will bring you in a Margy Reid poster tomorrow.
MR MOORE: Thank you. I hope I get one for John Langmore as well. The paradox here is that people do not vote that way, because they take into account much broader issues. The point that I am trying to make is that when it comes to the decision on what sort of electoral system we need for Canberra, should it come to a referendum, people in Canberra should be very aware. They should use this election as a way of trying their minds to see just how they would vote if we had single-member electorates and to appreciate the difficulty of the decision that they are to make. It puts people in a bind in deciding between the policies of the whole government or the whole party and the particular member whom they would like to have representing them. There can be a conflict there, as indeed would be the case if that were the only ground upon which I were voting. That, I think, very neatly explains the position without looking at the various independent members,
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