Page 4785 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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approach. It is bullying behaviour; it is behaviour demeaning of a credible opposition. They are not a credible opposition, because they simply seek to shout down, belittle and diminish the—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR CORBELL: See, here they go again, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Mr Seselja: I take a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker, regarding relevance. Mr Corbell is speaking about the opposition. I know he does not like us. I know he is apparently intimidated by us, but it is not relevant to the motion, which is about water and water restrictions. I would ask you to ask the minister to return to the subject matter at hand.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: I am sorry, I was in discussion with the Clerk at the time so I did not hear what he said. I am sure he will continue to be relevant to the motion. He has only got 21 seconds to go, and he has to move his amendment. Mr Corbell, would you please continue.
MR CORBELL: Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Of course, I was responding to the interjections that you get from the members on the other side of this chamber whenever you say something that they happen to disagree with. It is typical of their behaviour in this place, and they are starting to wear the penalty for their behaviour.
The government is committed to strong and sustainable water use into the future, and I thank Mrs Dunne for proposing this debate today.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Corbell, are you moving your amendment?
MR CORBELL: I have moved my amendment.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Sorry, thank you very much. You probably did that in the middle of that hullabaloo.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (5:42): I suppose it is not surprising that Mr Corbell is so sensitive to criticism on water issues. We saw that in the last part of his speech when a couple of little interjections were enough to really set him off. He feels bullied by the other side. We very much feel for Simon. It is worth reflecting on why the ACT community has had to suffer restrictions for as long as it has. Simon Corbell talks about restrictions being the exception and being, by their nature, temporary. Well, not under this government. The reality is that, whilst the drought has been the—
Mr Corbell: So we’re responsible for the drought as well, are we?
MR SESELJA: He is interjecting, Madam Deputy Speaker. Whilst the drought has been the main contributor, there is no doubt that the response—and it has been a very slow response—of this government to the drought has been a further contributor. It has exacerbated the situation. When you are in a situation beyond your control, such
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