Mr EDE - 1995-08-15
I ask the Chief Minister to clarify a point that has become extremely confusing in the last couple of days. Yesterday, the Chief Minister said on radio that he was not decriminalising cannabis possession. However, the Chief Minister's discussion paper says, in at least 2 instances, that no criminal conviction would be recorded for the possession of cannabis. Will the Chief Minister state clearly to the House whether he is proposing to decriminalise cannabis possession or not?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition has asked this question because clearly he has missed the point.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr STONE: We hear the maniacal laughter of the member for MacDonnell, who is still with us and who must be feeling fairly vindicated by me because he had been bagged by his own leader. Only a matter of weeks ago, he went on 8DDD radio and put a point of view that was rejected subsequently by the Leader of the Opposition, who said that that was not Labor policy and that he could not be expected to announce it 3 years before an election.
It was interesting to see the Leader of the Opposition trapeze in on ABC and Channel 8 television last night to say that he was flattered. Flattered he may have been, but I let Territorians know that we on this side of the Chamber are the CLP, a party that exists only in the Territory. This means that the CLP picks and chooses its policies across the board, unlike members opposite, who are so hidebound that, every time they want to be innovative, they have to run down south to a national conference in Hobart, Canberra or Sydney. On this side, we are prepared to recognise that good ideas come from many different directions ...
Mr Ede: You bagged it when we put it out.
Mr STONE: ... but we will not let the Leader of the Opposition claim that somehow he divined this policy himself. I looked back through all the opposition's policies. This is a man of conviction, a man who is really prepared to lead with his chin - that is, when someone else does it. I checked the opposition's law-and-order policy from March 1994, and there was no mention of this matter. Why was that? This was their executive summary. This was where the deceit started.
Mr Ede: It is in there.
Mr STONE: It was in your wider document, wasn't it?
Mr Ede: It is in there.
Page 683
Mr STONE: Yes, but it was not here and it was not in your first media release because you did not have the strength of your convictions to stand up and say that it was what you thought would make for good government. That is your problem. That is why, when the member for MacDonnell went on radio on 25 July - and I know this is embarrassing for you, but you cannot duck it - he said that he supported the decriminalisation of marijuana. He said that he was not very familiar with the drug since he had never used it. That was on 25 July.
You cannot scuttle out of this because on 26 July, the next day, they rounded you up. You were ducking and weaving all over the place, saying, `What has Bellie done to me this time?' You did not want to take part in the program, but finally they got you there. The reporter introduced the interview by saying: `Yesterday, Neil Bell gave us a call. He has called a number of people recently, I hear. He touched on marijuana. Here is what he had to say'. The reporter played what the member for MacDonnell had said on radio on 25 July. When asked the question, `That isn't Labor Party policy, is it?', the Leader of the Opposition said: `No, it is not' ...
Mr Ede: That is right. It is not.
Mr STONE: That is you - `... and you will have to wait until we are much closer to the next election, which is still some 3 years away. You really don't expect us to release policies 3 years in advance'.
Mr Ede: That is right.
Mr STONE: You do not have the conviction of your own beliefs. You tried to trapeze in at the last minute. The problem is that you stand condemned by your own words.
Mr Ede: Is it decriminalisation or not?
Mr STONE: This is a discussion paper, and I expect a wide range of views to be put in response to it across the board. Let Territorians be in no doubt about this. Under what I propose, it will still be an offence. People will still cop a fine.
Mr Ede: Will it be a criminal offence or a regulatory offence?
Mr STONE: We will work out the details subject to proper consultation. It is headed `Discussion Paper'.
Mr Ede: What are we discussing, a regulatory offence or a criminal offence?
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I know he is embarrassed because he has been ...
Mr Ede: No, you are.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: This is the man who said that it was not Labor Party policy and that we would have to wait for 3 years to find out what he stands for.
Page 684
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I am pleased that the Leader of the Opposition has asked this question because clearly he has missed the point.
Mr Bell interjecting.
Mr STONE: We hear the maniacal laughter of the member for MacDonnell, who is still with us and who must be feeling fairly vindicated by me because he had been bagged by his own leader. Only a matter of weeks ago, he went on 8DDD radio and put a point of view that was rejected subsequently by the Leader of the Opposition, who said that that was not Labor policy and that he could not be expected to announce it 3 years before an election.
It was interesting to see the Leader of the Opposition trapeze in on ABC and Channel 8 television last night to say that he was flattered. Flattered he may have been, but I let Territorians know that we on this side of the Chamber are the CLP, a party that exists only in the Territory. This means that the CLP picks and chooses its policies across the board, unlike members opposite, who are so hidebound that, every time they want to be innovative, they have to run down south to a national conference in Hobart, Canberra or Sydney. On this side, we are prepared to recognise that good ideas come from many different directions ...
Mr Ede: You bagged it when we put it out.
Mr STONE: ... but we will not let the Leader of the Opposition claim that somehow he divined this policy himself. I looked back through all the opposition's policies. This is a man of conviction, a man who is really prepared to lead with his chin - that is, when someone else does it. I checked the opposition's law-and-order policy from March 1994, and there was no mention of this matter. Why was that? This was their executive summary. This was where the deceit started.
Mr Ede: It is in there.
Mr STONE: It was in your wider document, wasn't it?
Mr Ede: It is in there.
Page 683
Mr STONE: Yes, but it was not here and it was not in your first media release because you did not have the strength of your convictions to stand up and say that it was what you thought would make for good government. That is your problem. That is why, when the member for MacDonnell went on radio on 25 July - and I know this is embarrassing for you, but you cannot duck it - he said that he supported the decriminalisation of marijuana. He said that he was not very familiar with the drug since he had never used it. That was on 25 July.
You cannot scuttle out of this because on 26 July, the next day, they rounded you up. You were ducking and weaving all over the place, saying, `What has Bellie done to me this time?' You did not want to take part in the program, but finally they got you there. The reporter introduced the interview by saying: `Yesterday, Neil Bell gave us a call. He has called a number of people recently, I hear. He touched on marijuana. Here is what he had to say'. The reporter played what the member for MacDonnell had said on radio on 25 July. When asked the question, `That isn't Labor Party policy, is it?', the Leader of the Opposition said: `No, it is not' ...
Mr Ede: That is right. It is not.
Mr STONE: That is you - `... and you will have to wait until we are much closer to the next election, which is still some 3 years away. You really don't expect us to release policies 3 years in advance'.
Mr Ede: That is right.
Mr STONE: You do not have the conviction of your own beliefs. You tried to trapeze in at the last minute. The problem is that you stand condemned by your own words.
Mr Ede: Is it decriminalisation or not?
Mr STONE: This is a discussion paper, and I expect a wide range of views to be put in response to it across the board. Let Territorians be in no doubt about this. Under what I propose, it will still be an offence. People will still cop a fine.
Mr Ede: Will it be a criminal offence or a regulatory offence?
Mr STONE: We will work out the details subject to proper consultation. It is headed `Discussion Paper'.
Mr Ede: What are we discussing, a regulatory offence or a criminal offence?
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, I know he is embarrassed because he has been ...
Mr Ede: No, you are.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr STONE: This is the man who said that it was not Labor Party policy and that we would have to wait for 3 years to find out what he stands for.
Page 684
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016