Page 2289 - Week 07 - Thursday, 27 August 2020
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I do note that there have been no donations that have been received by the Labor Party from property developers for some time, and this ban was a key election commitment and item in the parliamentary agreement. We are very pleased that it has been achieved today.
I place on record again my thanks to members across the parties who have negotiated very cooperatively and in good faith, members of the OLA staff; the ACT Greens advisers, Eddy and Adriana; Ausilia from the Canberra Liberals; and Tom from the Chief Minister’s office who has led the work on behalf of ACT Labor. It has been very strong and cooperative work done in good faith and I thank all people involved.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (5.32): I thank all members for the cooperative way that everybody has dealt with this. It has at times been a little ad hoc and at times a little stop-start and a little slow to get going; but, by all accounts, it has been a pretty collaborative effort.
I express my thanks to Janice for her excellent programming work with the cheat sheet today and throughout this term. You have done an exceptional job and this is another great example.
I also extend my thanks to PCO for their considerable efforts on our amendments and, indeed, all the work that they do. When this bill looked to be debated in early 2019, they provided us with multiple versions of amendments that frantically went before scrutiny to allow for flexibility in our discussions. They were working under very tight time frames with all parties to ensure that everyone had what they needed. As it turned out, the time frame was not quite as tight as what we had anticipated. It was not quite as frantic as perhaps we had thought. As always, PCO undertakes their work and advice with a very high degree of quality. I particularly thank Margaret, Lyndall, Mary and Daniella who assisted with our amendments.
Electoral amendment bills are always complex and there have been ongoing negotiations since the legislation was introduced in late 2018. I thank the JACS officials who worked on the government’s amendments and Tom from the Chief Minister’s office for his contributions. I also extend my thanks to the Greens and to recognise the considerable work that was put into the amendments by Eddy and Adriana in Ms Le Couteur’s office.
While the Canberra Liberals still have some practical concerns with elements of the bill, we are happy to support the increased efforts towards transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
Finally, thank you very much to Ausilia for all that you have done on this bill and numerous others. Your diligence, professionalism and expertise are really admired.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (5.34): I also put on the record my thanks to PCO who, I guess, get an electoral bill at least every term of the Assembly. They must be used to this sort of stuff; but still, thank you very much to them. Thank you to Janice for doing the scripts for us. Thank you to Eddy and Adriana and Ausilia and
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