Page 1072 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video


The additional words to (2)(a) around replacing “convert to a barn laid facility” with “adopt alternative egg production methods” does, as Ms Le Couteur indicated, provide greater scope. I need to be straightforward with the Assembly here: I am not sure that there are going to be other viable egg production methods other than a barn laid facility. I do not rule it out, but I just do not think it is particularly likely. So again a pragmatic approach would be to allow the government to do the work that Ms Porter has suggested in the motion. But I do not have a strong view either way on that. Those words are not particularly important in the grand scheme of things.

There are a number of other statements and new insertions into the motion that the government simply cannot support and so will not be doing so. This ultimately will become a question for Ms Le Couteur as to whether she wishes to move each of these individually. I think it will certainly save the Assembly’s time and be a pragmatic way forward to support Ms Porter’s motion, allow the government to do this work and report back in May and then the Assembly could have a further debate if it is unhappy with the outcomes that the government presents in its report back in May.

MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (5.24): My understanding from what Mr Barr has just said is that I should probably be asking that we divide the motion. I am not exactly sure where to divide it, however. Possibly the two that you will support—there is section (2) and not section (1). I do not really want to go through them one by one, as I agree it would be a waste of our time. I am not quite sure how best to proceed.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Barr, are you able to offer us any guidance?

MR BARR: (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (5.24): The government are prepared to support the omission of the words “convert to a barn-laid facility” and to substitute “adopt alternative egg production methods” in (2)(a). But we are not going to agree to the deletion of (1)(d) or the other parts of the motion.

MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (5.24): I have got the same amendment. You could vote this down and then do it in my amendment.

MR BARR: (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (5.25): If that achieves the same end, that might be the best way to proceed.

MR SPEAKER: I think we can readily divide this question. What I propose, if members are agreeable, is that we will take Ms Le Couteur’s proposal to substitute in paragraph (2)(a) as one question and we will take the rest as another question. Is that agreeable to the house?

Mr Barr: Yes.

Ms Le Couteur: Yes.


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video