Page 3289 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 19 August 2008

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You cannot in any way claim that the government is seeking to push these amendments through this evening. These issues have been on the table for some time. Any members who have half a wit would have had regard to the issues that were being dealt with in the response to the scrutiny of bills report. The government has subjected this bill to the normal level of scrutiny—that is, through the scrutiny of bills process. It has responded in detail to those issues. I am disappointed that at this hour of the day members are seeking to make an issue of this when the issue simply does not exist.

If members are not inclined to support the suspension tonight, that is unfortunate. It simply means that the government will need to bring the bill back tomorrow evening and deal with it then. That is what we will do. But the issues will be dealt with in the considered way they have been dealt with to date.

I understand that there is probably not an absolute majority to suspend standing orders this evening. If that is the case, the Assembly will simply adjourn and the government will deal with this matter tomorrow.

DR FOSKEY: I wish it to be noted that the Assembly does not have—

MR SPEAKER: Order! Resume your seat. The debate has been closed. Nobody rose when Mr Corbell rose.

Question resolved in the negative.

Motion (by Mr Corbell) agreed to:

That debate be adjourned.

Adjournment

Motion (by Mr Corbell) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

Scrutiny reports

DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (7.06): I want to say what I so rudely tried to say earlier on, simply because it did need to be said. It needs to be on the public record that Mr Corbell’s response to the scrutiny of bills report has not yet been received by the committee. It may be somewhere; it must be somewhere. Apparently it has left Mr Corbell’s office, but it has not been received by the committee. It certainly has not been considered by the committee and it is not therefore available to the Assembly because it is not in the scrutiny of bills report.

That is a matter that informed my response to the motion that we adjourn the debate. It was mentioned in my speech that I was concerned about the lack of response to the scrutiny of bills report. If this government stops respecting those reports, our


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