Page 4483 - Week 14 - Thursday, 1 December 1994
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going to be entering into the debate. Then Mr Connolly paused and said that he did not want to repeat a private conversation; that it was inappropriate that he do so. I believe that that quite clearly vindicates the position argued by the Attorney and supported by Ms Szuty. It is obviously the position that this side of the house, as the Chief Minister has said, is very happy to countenance.
MR KAINE (5.15): Madam Speaker, I have listened patiently to the debate up until now. I can only suggest that the members of the Assembly exercise some caution in what they are going to be asked to do shortly. We have heard all sorts of debate about what was said and what was not said, and what was meant, and what was implied and what was not implied. There has not been a great deal of weight to the debate.
I am very concerned about Mr Moore. Mr Moore moved a motion of no confidence. Before the debate has been completed Mr Moore backs off and reduces it simply to a question of censure. Why did he do that? He has not given me any good excuse or reason for backing off. If he believed that the Minister deserved a motion of no confidence, what has happened during the debate that made him suddenly change his mind? I am concerned about Mr Moore's motives and what he hopes to achieve from this motion. We know that Mr Moore's travelling companion, who, one would have assumed, would be well acquainted with what his intentions were, well acquainted with what he intended to do and why he intended to do it, has said that she will not support a motion of no confidence, and she is doubtful about whether there is enough substance for her to support a censure motion. So, what are we on about? Why have we wasted so much time this afternoon debating a motion that even the mover is clearly not convinced about?
Madam Speaker, it is at times like this when I wonder why anybody has any confidence in this place. We have spent six years trying to turn this house into an institution that people could have some respect for. We have had our ups and downs, we have had our characters, we have made our mistakes and we have tried to rectify them. I very much suspect that if we are not careful about what we do in the next few minutes we will put ourselves back to where we were in 1989. I do not favour that. I have not put six years of my life into this place only to be told at the end of it that I am a clown; that we should not be here, we should be off somewhere else doing something else. Madam Speaker, I urge Mr Moore not only to reduce his allegation and his claim from one that warrants a no-confidence motion to one which merely warrants a censure, but to back off and let the matter lie.
MR MOORE (5.19), in reply: Madam Speaker, I think the best thing for me to do is to move my amendment. I move:
Omit "lacks confidence in", substitute "censures".
Madam Speaker, the AIDS Action Council put out a press release following a new piece of legislation. The new piece of legislation makes cannabis available for medicinal purposes. The AIDS Action Council put out a press release that supports a doctor, Dr Peter Rowland, and in it used the word "immediately". The press release is headed "Canberra Doctor to Approve Cannabis Use Immediately" and it is on AIDS Action Council paper. Clearly, Madam Speaker, the AIDS Action Council are approving an
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