Mr BAILEY - 1995-08-15
The Minister for Health Services, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Aboriginal Development and the president of the CLP have either disagreed with the Chief Minister's proposals or refused to comment on them. The Minister for Tourism seems to shift ground, depending on the time of the day when he is asked. Will the Chief Minister deny that he knew that he could not get this proposal past Cabinet in its current form and therefore went public with the discussion paper, thereby forcing his colleagues to support the position or publicly dump on their Chief Minister?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the relevant point seems to elude those members opposite. Perhaps it reflects their inability to read. However, if they look at the document, they will see that it is titled `Discussion Paper No 1'. It is a discussion paper, and I would expect there to be a variety of views on ...
Mr Bailey: Will it be a private member's bill, as the previous member for Fannie Bay had?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: Let me pick up the member for Wanguri's interjection. Usually, I would remain silent on interjections concerning Cabinet, but let the member be under no misapprehension about this. This was not a Cabinet matter. I would not be standing here telling lies or misleading the House ...
Mr Ede: What? So Cabinet does not matter any more!
Mr STONE: This is a discussion paper that ends in Cabinet, and that is the problem. You do not understand how government works.
Mr Ede: It does not work like this.
Mr STONE: Your ignorance is so profound ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much chatter on the opposition benches. I would appreciate hearing the Chief Minister in silence.
Page 686
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition shakes his head. I can understand that he does not understand how it works, but the simple fact is that it is a discussion paper.
Mr Ede: I know what you are doing.
Mr STONE: I know you are embarrassed by it. I know you felt that you were caught with your pants down, but the fact is that you could be quite constructive in all of this. Together with the member for Wanguri, you can have input even as my colleagues have input.
Mr Ede: We will have input, all right.
Mr STONE: It is welcome from all sectors of the community. Instead of standing up here trying to score cheap political points, why not do something constructive for once in your life and tell us what you think about the proposal?
Mr Ede: You are a cheap politician.
Mr STONE: Tell us how you think it might work. I would expect people on this side to have differing views on various aspects of the proposal. That is because it is a discussion paper.
Page 687
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the relevant point seems to elude those members opposite. Perhaps it reflects their inability to read. However, if they look at the document, they will see that it is titled `Discussion Paper No 1'. It is a discussion paper, and I would expect there to be a variety of views on ...
Mr Bailey: Will it be a private member's bill, as the previous member for Fannie Bay had?
Mr SPEAKER: Order! The member for Wanguri.
Mr STONE: Let me pick up the member for Wanguri's interjection. Usually, I would remain silent on interjections concerning Cabinet, but let the member be under no misapprehension about this. This was not a Cabinet matter. I would not be standing here telling lies or misleading the House ...
Mr Ede: What? So Cabinet does not matter any more!
Mr STONE: This is a discussion paper that ends in Cabinet, and that is the problem. You do not understand how government works.
Mr Ede: It does not work like this.
Mr STONE: Your ignorance is so profound ...
Members interjecting.
Mr SPEAKER: Order! There is far too much chatter on the opposition benches. I would appreciate hearing the Chief Minister in silence.
Page 686
Mr STONE: The Leader of the Opposition shakes his head. I can understand that he does not understand how it works, but the simple fact is that it is a discussion paper.
Mr Ede: I know what you are doing.
Mr STONE: I know you are embarrassed by it. I know you felt that you were caught with your pants down, but the fact is that you could be quite constructive in all of this. Together with the member for Wanguri, you can have input even as my colleagues have input.
Mr Ede: We will have input, all right.
Mr STONE: It is welcome from all sectors of the community. Instead of standing up here trying to score cheap political points, why not do something constructive for once in your life and tell us what you think about the proposal?
Mr Ede: You are a cheap politician.
Mr STONE: Tell us how you think it might work. I would expect people on this side to have differing views on various aspects of the proposal. That is because it is a discussion paper.
Page 687
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016