Page 2935 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 14 September 1994
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I have suggested that three members of the Assembly constitute the committee - one Government member, one Opposition member and one Independent member. There are two reasons why I have not included in these terms of reference a position on the committee for the leader of the Abolish Self Government Coalition, Mr Stevenson. Firstly, Mr Stevenson has decided not to nominate himself for various committee positions in this Assembly. In fact, the only committee of this Assembly on which Mr Stevenson served was the 1992-93 Select Committee on Estimates. I believe that this Assembly should not now give Mr Stevenson the opportunity to serve on an Assembly committee simply because he is interested in the subject under scrutiny. Secondly, Mr Stevenson has tabled one of the Bills which will be considered by the committee; namely, the Electors Initiative and Referendum Bill 1994. If Mr Stevenson were accepted as a member of this committee, I think it would be only fair if Mrs Carnell, as the proposer of the Community Referendum Bill, were also nominated as a member of the committee. Ideally, however, both members of the Assembly can have the opportunity through the committee process to argue for support for their respective Bills.
I have suggested that the committee report by 18 November 1994. I do not believe that this is an impossible task. However, I acknowledge the hard work that would need to be done in the next two months to enable the reporting date to be met. The Assembly would then have the opportunity to schedule both the Community Referendum Bill 1994 and the Electors Initiative and Referendum Bill 1994 for debate during private members business in the final sittings of the Assembly for the year. If members of the Assembly chose to give these Bills priority for debate over other business, I believe that a decision on these Bills could be made before the Assembly rises and before the next election.
As I indicated in proposing the motion, I am not anticipating that the issue will be buried or not addressed during the term of this Assembly. I have stated publicly that I support Mrs Carnell's Community Referendum Bill in principle. It is certainly not in my interests to see the issue remain unaddressed before the next election. In closing, Madam Speaker, I urge members to support the motion to establish a Select Committee on Community Initiated Referendums, which I see as a useful way in which to progress discussion and debate on this most important issue.
MR HUMPHRIES (4.20): Madam Speaker, the Opposition opposes the motion. We believe that, on this issue, we will not be greatly enlightened by having it referred to a committee. Not surprisingly, the Opposition has a strong view about its own Bill. The Government has made its own position equally bluntly clear. If Ms Follett's comments today were any indication, Government members are about as receptive to having community-initiated referenda in this community as they would be to having an outbreak of the Black Death. I think that Mr Stevenson's views also are pretty well known. I am sure that a committee would be very enlightening for Mr Moore or Ms Szuty, whichever of them might sit on it. I am afraid that I do not think that the rest of the community would benefit greatly from that process.
Frankly, I do not believe that this process is going to be comfortably resolved in the time available. What is more, we are going to be propelled into an unseemly rush in the few sitting days after 18 November to try to resolve these complex and important questions on the floor of the Assembly before the Assembly rises. Quite understandably, we are
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