Page 468 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 8 March 2011
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government of any persuasion passes a law which is not unconstitutional they should not be subject to arbitrary disallowance by another jurisdiction.
It is very clear; it is very simple; and it was simply ignored by Mr Corbell. Now, compare that to the position of Bob Brown on this issue. What did Bob Brown say about the position of the ACT Assembly? What did Bob Brown specifically point out to the Assembly in 2001? He said that the ACT Assembly should remember that the national parliament has a key role in the planning and future directions of this, our national capital. That is patronising at best. It is a lecture, of course, about the role of the Senate and its ability to override things.
But let us see what the Greens believe about the ACT on this issue. Bob Brown says that the ACT Assembly should remember that the national parliament has a key role in the planning and future direction of this, our national capital. So what has changed in the last 10 years? What has led the leader of the Greens in the Senate on his road to Damascus that he is suddenly now an advocate for our rights? It is an interesting question, but nobody can explain it.
We have got Mr Corbell who basically has just misled the Assembly because he asserts something that is not true—
Mr Corbell: On a point of order, Madam Assistant Speaker, Mr Smyth knows—
Mr Hargreaves: Clock please, Madam Assistant Speaker. Clock!
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Ms Le Couteur): Mr Hargreaves, please be quiet.
Mr Smyth: Could we stop the clock, Madam Assistant Speaker?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Yes, stop the clock. Mr Corbell.
Mr Corbell: Mr Smyth knows the forms of this place very well, and he abuses them. If he wants to make an allegation that a member has misled the Assembly, he can only do so by a substantive motion. Mr Smyth is not moving a substantive motion, and he should simply be asked to withdraw the comment.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, would you like to withdraw that?
MR SMYTH: Well, I will withdraw it. I am happy to withdraw it.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Restart the clock.
MR SMYTH: It is interesting that if you want to move a motion such as that, you actually have to wait a day and put a motion on the notice paper, because those forms of the house are now denied us. But Mr Corbell should review what he said in the light of what I have just quoted from the Leader of the Opposition. He might apologise for what he said.
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