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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (27 March) . . Page.. 971 ..

Mr Berry: No. I said we were not interfering in industrial relations.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The house will come to order. The Chief Minister has the call.

Mr Berry: And he talks to you.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: And he talks to me.

MR HUMPHRIES: The record will show that Mr Berry said previously that this was a direction to government. It was not a description of what the government is doing or a recommendation to government, it was a direction.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, we have taken the view in this place that directions to government are matters that the government defies, as Mr Berry just said, at its peril. We have had the discretion to be able to accept recommendations from the Assembly, and that has been the standard practice in this place. But I would say to members that if that is what Mr Berry means-if that is what he says he means-then it is a dangerous line to be crossing. The Assembly has never at any time in the 12 years of self-government intervened and decided to take unto itself the role of directing the course of an industrial dispute in this territory. It is an enormously big step and it is a dangerous step to take.

Mr Berry has brought on this amendment unannounced. I understand that he attempted to have the amendment dealt with tomorrow during consideration of private members business. For some reason he either did not succeed or did not try to succeed. He has now brought on this amendment unannounced-again, another ambush in this place-and he wants the Assembly to support it. There are significant issues flowing from this in an industrial context, particularly given that the industrial relations legislation is federal legislation governing the ACT and our relationship to it is a complex matter. I do not know what the implications of the amendment will be. The government has sought advice about this matter. The government cannot possibly have that advice if this matter is to be debated today. It is a big step.

Mr Berry said that normally he does not wish to engage in this sort of matter-that is, interfering-

At 5.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the debate was interrupted. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, Mr Berry said that he did not think that crossing this line would be something we should do very often.

Mr Berry: No, that is not what I said. I will tell you what-

MR HUMPHRIES: Well, you said that this was a very big step to take and you would not normally-

Mr Berry: No.

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