Page 904 - Week 04 - Thursday, 3 May 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Planning, Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation, Minister for Industrial Relations) (11.15): I will be supporting Ms MacDonald’s amendment. I find it somewhat amusing to be lectured in this place by the Liberal Party of Australia on conventions in Australian politics and the Australian parliament. Fair dinkum, if there is one political party in Australia that has lost the right to ever call on parliamentary conventions—or conventions of a constitutional nature—it is the Liberal Party of Australia. Let there never again be a lecture from people who sit in an Australian parliament as a member of the Liberal Party of Australia. That right has long been lost—any right to claim conventions in politics. You must be kidding.
We all know the confected debate that occurs around this particular issue. What I am interested in is the quality of the contributions that are made during the estimates process. It will be interesting to see whether some of the shadow ministers who do not want to “waste their time” asking questions in particular portfolio areas in this place might decide to front up to estimates, ask a few questions and show some interest in some serious policy discussion around, say, the future of education in this territory and this country.
Estimates are an excellent opportunity for those opposite. I will be very interested to see which two members opposite volunteer to be on the committee. The supposed issue in times past where shadow ministers felt they have not had the opportunity to ask questions is perhaps more of a reflection upon the internal politics of those opposite as to who gets onto the committee and who gets the time to ask the questions.
All of us who have sat in the estimates hearings have seen the sort of politics that goes on. We all remember Mr Pratt storming out without his coffee mug and having to come back in to get it. We all remember that episode. That was largely because some of his colleagues wanted to get their questions in first, and that would not have enabled him to ask the questions. Mr Pratt felt the need to storm out. There is an imputation that in some way opposition members are denied the opportunity to ask all of the questions that they want to. Of course, there is ample opportunity. It is taken every year. And at the end of the process, hours and hours of public service time are taken up in answering questions on notice.
Mr Mulcahy: You are out shopping, Andrew.
MR BARR: No, I am not suggesting that that is shocking. What I am saying is that those—
Mr Mulcahy: No, I said shopping—shopping.
MR BARR: Sorry, I misheard. But that opportunity is there as well, and it is taken. I do not think anyone could deny that every possible question that is not asked in the hearings is put on notice at the end. We have all seen it. I have only had experience of one year in the estimates process as a minister but, having worked in this building for some time, I am aware of how all this works. There is no way that anyone in the opposition does not get the opportunity to ask their questions.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .