Page 3968 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 23 October 1990
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Mr Speaker, Ms Follett made another point to me earlier this evening in conversation. She remarked that both the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, in very impressive and measured speeches at the function this afternoon, referred to their hope - their shared hope - with Mr Mandela for a non-racial future for South Africa. One of the most outrageous parts of the events early this week was the Government's opposition to our hopes for a non-racial future for South Africa. Ms Follett made the comment today that that phrase that the Government objected to was supported by both Mr Hawke and Dr Hewson. Mr Speaker, that objection to that term made no sense to us and made the Assembly look absurd.
Mr Duby seemed to find the proposition that the key to the city could not be granted to Mr Mandela, but could be granted to a bear, amusing, and he asked whether it was a brown bear or a black bear, or perhaps, given his concerns about the ANC, a red bear. That made us look absurd. As Ms Follett said, it was a shameful exercise for this Assembly.
Mr Nelson Mandela - Visit to Canberra
MR COLLAERY (Attorney-General) (10.32), in reply: Mr Speaker, I join with my colleagues in expressing disgust at how low the Leader of the Opposition will stoop for political point scoring. I will say very little more than that she is rapidly earning our complete disgust with the way she proceeds.
Mr Speaker, I have been active in South African human rights issues for years and years in this country. If the Prime Minister was not willing to invite Mr Kaine to a luncheon today, I think it is absolutely disgraceful that he would not invite me, or one other Minister of this Government, or one member of the Amnesty group in the Assembly. I am going to look into the activities of the Prime Minister and his protocol group in this clear and apparent snub of our Assembly, and also into the manner in which Ms Follett seems to have agreed with that snub to our self-governing entity. That is a very strong statement I make.
Those of us who have been busy in the field of human rights can stand on our records. No-one has ever seen Rosemary Follett at any of the principal human rights activities and functions in this country. The record shows, Mr Speaker, that for years I harried this Federal Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, to give justice to South African military deserters. It is on the record in this town. The Prime Minister and the current Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans, well know how I was a thorn in their side for years, yet no invitation was expressed. This was shabby political point scoring,
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