Page 1166 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2009

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Bill agreed to.

Standing and temporary orders—suspension

MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10.52): I move:

That so much of the standing and temporary orders be suspended as would prevent order of the day No 2, Assembly business, relating to the Government response to Report 8 of the Standing Committee on Health and Disability (6th Assembly), being called on forthwith.

MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (10.52): The Canberra Liberals will be opposing the motion for the suspension of standing orders. This is a simple case where the government has no business to fill up its day; it is proposing to bring forward Assembly business from its allotted time on Thursday so that it can cover the confusion in relation to its lack of business, its lack of agenda and the fact that it has not got its act together as a government.

It is a third-term government that is totally bereft of ideas, a third-term government that has less legislation on the table in the bills list than does an opposition. Collectively, the opposition and the crossbenches have more legislation available than the government does, because the government has no ideas. It is true that the ACT is essentially being governed from the opposition and the crossbenches at the moment. The only places where ideas are coming from are the opposition and the crossbenches. The fact that we are going back—

Mr Corbell interjecting—

MRS DUNNE: Yes, it is an important matter. To discuss care and protection in response to a report which should have been responded to in the last Assembly shows that this is a government that has no ideas. I am very happy to debate the care and protection issues that arise—in Assembly business on Thursday, which is the usual time.

If we attempted to do this, the manager of government business would be standing up here, saying: “The executive has so much business to do. This is an important time.” Yes, there was notice given of this at the government business meeting the other day, but this is not the time for Assembly business; this is the time for executive business. The trouble is that this executive has no business because it has no ideas.

Question resolved in the affirmative, with the concurrence of an absolute majority.

Health and Disability—Standing Committee

Report 8—government response

Debate resumed from 26 February 2009, on motion by Mr Barr:


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