Page 4629 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 15 December 1993
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Mrs Carnell: With above-the-line voting.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MS FOLLETT: I think it is somewhat premature and not a little counterproductive to enter into this debate on one particular element of that legislation in advance of having the legislation tomorrow.
Members will see, when the Bill is before them tomorrow, that it contains over 330 clauses, I believe. It is an extremely lengthy and detailed piece of legislation, and it is a matter on which members will want to inform themselves quite closely. I might also say again to members that I have made an offer to meet with them and to discuss the Bill, as we did on the first stage of the implementation of the electoral legislation. I believe that that process was productive in that it did lead to an outcome where we were able to set up the Electoral Commission and define its powers and so forth in an amicable way and in a way that allowed us to achieve the maximum of consensus and to clarify those issues on which we did not have consensus. Given that that process worked well with the shorter part of the electoral legislation, I would commend it to members for the much more detailed and lengthy part of the legislation, and I hope that they will take up that offer I have made to them.
I consider that I have honoured the referendum, and the legislation, when members see it, will show that. Tomorrow that legislation will be tabled, and I believe that members should consider their positions once they have the Bill.
MRS CARNELL: I ask a supplementary question, Madam Speaker. Chief Minister, can you tell me how the Tasmanian model of Hare-Clark can possibly work with above-the-line voting?
MS FOLLETT: If members have a look at the question on the referendum description sheet and compare that with what is in the Bill, they will see that the elements of that referendum are in the Bill.
Visiting Medical Officers Dispute
MS ELLIS: My question is directed to the Deputy Chief Minister in his capacity as Minister for Health. I ask: Does the Government have any plans to legislate out of existence the deed, signed in 1987, between the Australian Medical Association and the ACT Board of Health?
MR BERRY: I thank Ms Ellis for the question. The Government has decided to prepare legislation, where the need arises, to extinguish the deed. This recognises the concerns in the Assembly about the continuance of the industrial dispute and strike action by the VMOs over their contracts. Mr Moore has indicated his support for such a proposal, and we would need majority support to go down this path, if the decision is made to follow that course. Mrs Carnell has supported the Government's contract proposal in the past. We have offered a very fair and orderly approach to the issue and
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