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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (2 December) . . Page.. 4287 ..

Mrs Carnell: Because there has been a referendum and the community have decided what they want.

Mr Humphries: That is right; twice.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, because there has been a referendum and the community have decided what they want, does that mean that no questions can ever be asked about it again? That is absolute rubbish. When faults are found with anything, one is entitled, if one is intelligent - - -

Mr Moore: How would you know?

MR BERRY: If one is intelligent, and not belligerent and rude, then one can ask sensible questions about processes in the course of looking at them. Those who know nothing about government processes would exclude an electoral system from an examination of the process of government.

Mr Speaker, the facts of the matter are that this entire process has been about electioneering. It has not been about producing anything positive for the ACT. I have already been critical of the inquiry into the ACT Government. I am even more critical of a process where, by negotiation with other parties in this place, certain matters have been excluded from the inquiry. What an outrage; what a farce! That particular approach has been dishonest from the outset.

There was always an undertaking that this Government would be open and consultative. Many of us did not believe that; but some in the community mistakenly would have believed it. Nothing evidenced more clearly the fact that the Government had no intention of being consultative than did its approach to this inquiry into governance in the ACT. It went and did the job by itself and then attempted to go through the pretence of consultation, only to exclude issues which certain of its supporters did not want examined because there might be questions asked about the validity of past decisions in relation to the matter.

So, Mr Speaker, this process has to be regarded as part of an electioneering process. I have yet to see that it will deliver anything palpable for the people of the ACT. In fact, it seems at this stage only to have soaked up a lot of taxpayers' dollars in what has been, from go to whoa, a fancy-dancing media exercise. I note that the inquiry into governance in the ACT continues. I look forward to seeing what comes of that; but I fear that the inquiry's result will be inadequate, because it has not been permitted, in its terms of reference, to examine all matters which affect governance in the ACT. It is quite a nonsense to suggest that you could look at the parliamentary process in the ACT and the government process in the ACT without looking at the electoral system. The two are intertwined.

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