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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 986 ..
MR STEFANIAK (continuing):
Now, if people want to go on later tonight in relation to finishing private members business, that is another matter entirely. I think it is appropriate, given that my understanding was that we adjourned by consent at the time we did yesterday for this, to proceed now. The government will not be supporting Mr Berry's motion.
MR SPEAKER: Could I ask the whips to go and talk somewhere else please? Thank you.
MR KAINE (10.34): I support Mr Berry's motion on this matter. Today is for private members business. The matter could easily have been dealt with in a few minutes last night, but the Manager of Government Business moved the adjournment of the house. I do not know why he did that, but it could have been dealt with then.
It is noted on the notice paper as being Assembly business and there is a session for Assembly business tomorrow morning. It could be dealt with then, but I have no objection to it being dealt with after presentation of papers as Mr Berry is suggesting. I do believe that it is inappropriate for the government to try to usurp private members business time like this.
MR HUMPHRIES (Chief Minister, Minister for Community Affairs and Treasurer) (10.35): I would indicate that I do not believe we should support this motion. As I understand it, this matter was actually put onto the provisional program, last night. Members would have been able to see last night that we were proposing to have this matter on the program this morning.
We all have telephones in our offices, so it would have been very easy for Mr Berry, who complained yesterday about people not ringing up and talking to him about things, to have used the telephone in respect to this matter. It would have been very easy for him to ring up and say, "We do not want to deal with this today. Can you put it off?" We might have been able to consider it. But again, Mr Speaker, this is another move by ambush. What is the problem that the opposition has in telling people that it wants to do certain things?
Mr Berry: I rang the office of the Manager of Government Business this morning and told his staff member.
MR HUMPHRIES: At what time? At what time, Mr Berry?
Mr Berry: At a little after nine, I suspect.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, okay, in that case, I will withdraw. I did not know that you had done that. No-one has told me that you had been in contact with them. The standing orders require that we present papers as soon as they have been put on the table. This is not government business. This is Assembly business-
Mr Berry: That is tomorrow.
MR HUMPHRIES
: And the Assembly business should have been presented yesterday. The house was adjourned, I understand, by the Manager of Government Business without opposition from anyone else in the chamber. I understand he went around the
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