Page 2579 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 1994
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Mr Humphries: Have you sat down, or are you going to continue?
MR STEVENSON: You have the floor, if you want to raise a point of order.
MADAM SPEAKER: You have to be a mind-reader in this forum.
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, I wanted to say that there is other business before the Assembly today. I do not think we will get through it all if we do not press on.
Ms Follett: Oh, sit down!
Mr Humphries: I note the interjection from the front bench over there, Madam Speaker. Mr Stevenson is, I think, attempting to discharge a matter from the notice paper; but, in the course of doing so, he is debating another Bill presented today.
Mr Moore: He is talking about his own Bill that has been on the notice paper for months and months. You are embarrassed because the Liberals have put on today two Bills that are already on the notice paper.
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, I have no objection to Mr Stevenson debating either of the Bills when they actually come up for debate. What he is debating today is a motion to take one of his Bills off the notice paper. There are other Bills that I would like to see passed today, and I do not think there is any point in this speech that we are hearing at the moment.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Humphries is perfectly correct. In terms of relevance, Mr Stevenson, you are straying widely. Would you mind coming back to the point and explaining to us why this Bill has to be discharged from the notice paper.
MR STEVENSON: Madam Speaker, I must admit that I am always concerned about the time that I spend in the Assembly, particularly when there are important matters on the notice paper; but, as I mentioned, Mr Berry came around to see me just five minutes ago and said, "It looks like we are going to get through what we planned this morning and we might go into some other things". So, from that point of view, I thought it was perfectly valid to speak. I will finish off on why I am removing this particular Bill, but why I left certain things in the other Bill. When I removed it, I could have changed it; but I decided to leave some things in, particularly the percentage similar to the Swiss percentage, so that citizens can actually make sure that a matter can be introduced.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
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