Page 3483 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 18 September 1991
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Legislation Program
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (4.05): I want to rebut the extraordinary observation by Mr Humphries. The problem that this Government has is that it is impossible to predict the extraordinary and erratic behaviour of members opposite. I think that yesterday we had circulating at one stage four amendments to one clause of one Bill.
Executive business for today was three complex legal, technical law reform issues. We could have expected that both the Liberal Party, as the official Opposition, and the Residents Rally, as the next largest group, may have wanted to contribute to the debate on those issues. As it was, on one of those, both parties spoke. On two others, the Residents Rally chose not to take part in the debate.
It was perfectly appropriate for the Government to assume that the detail stage and the in-principle stage of three Bills would take up the time of the Assembly. As it turned out, opposition members in the other groups chose not to enter into the debate on two of those Bills. It is hardly appropriate to suggest that the Government is not dishing up the business to the house. We have plenty of Bills for you to deal with.
We could have dealt with these Bills last night. As it turns out, no-one had any problems with these Bills. It was generally the view of all of you yesterday that it would be inappropriate for us to bring on those Bills last night. It now turns out that we could have dealt with them last night and other matters today. But we will persevere, despite the difficulties of the erratic and unpredictable behaviour opposite.
Legislation Program
MR JENSEN (4.07): I think it appropriate that there be some response to that interesting comment by Mr Connolly. The reason why the Residents Rally requested that those Bills be deferred and not brought up for debate yesterday was that it was not until 10 o'clock yesterday that the Residents Rally delivered copies of that legislation to the ACT Council on the Ageing. They had requested it of the Minister's office and had not received a reply. Also, at 11 o'clock on that day there was a meeting of community groups involved in that matter. They produced a document, which was circulating in the chamber, indicating that, while they supported the general concepts of the Bill, they had some problems with the structure.
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