Page 1766 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
necessarily agree with some of the things Michael Linke has said and that he probably will not agree with some of the things that will come out of the advisory council. What does he think will improve animal welfare? I would very much like to hear that. He has treated today’s bill like a bit of a joke, as he has with some of the other things that have been put forward. That is an indictment of Mr Coe in relation to these issues. He did not seem to have even looked at this bill in detail. He just talked about one aspect of it. It does not seem that he knows what is in the bill. It is an indictment of him that he thinks the protection of animals is such a joke. Many people in the community hold dear this issue, and it was very disappointing to hear him say that.
As I said, we are now in a situation where we will not have this strong legislation in place for the ACT. As Mr Rattenbury said, because of the standing orders, we may not see something for another year. We were prepared to have the bill agreed to in principle to allow the government to go through their processes and see what came out of that. If they had anything to put forward, they could have put forward amendments. They could have put forward other ideas, but, no, we will not have that.
We have seen the suggestion with some of the legislation or ideas the Greens have put forward that they are somehow radical and have never been heard of before. As Mr Rattenbury has already said, and as Ms Le Couteur has spoken out before, this is something which has been put in place. It has been trialled on the Gold Coast in Queensland and it has been put in place in other countries. It is something that has actually worked. It is not something radical. It is not something new. It is something that has worked before.
We have received 50 submissions, most of them in strong support of this legislation, and we should be progressing this today. It is a great shame that we will not be, but I commend Ms Le Couteur for her work. She has done this with great integrity, and any suggestion otherwise is quite outrageous. Anyone who knows Ms Le Couteur would know that it is not something that she would do. I commend this legislation. I congratulate Ms Le Couteur for putting it forward. It is a great shame we will not have it in place today in the ACT.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (11.38): As Ms Le Couteur and her colleagues are aware, I am very disappointed that this bill has been brought forward for debate today. To debate individual elements of this bill which the Greens have put forward as a package of animal welfare reform would be to dishonour the commitment I have personally made to a range of groups working in this sector in regard to a document I have been carefully developing and a broader consultation I have planned. As the Chief Minister has also stated, he has as well made undertakings to the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, which have already done substantial work on a separate document. I am confident that this work will result in legitimate, workable and progressive proposals that will improve the welfare of animals in the territory. And of course it is very close to my heart that this happens.
If I were to support the passage of the Greens’ animal welfare bill today I would be not only showing disrespect for the individuals and organisations to whom these undertakings have been made, I would also be choosing a path that I do not believe would lead to a better outcome for animals in the ACT. I do not think the Greens’ bill
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video