Mr EDE - 1995-11-28
No doubt, the Chief Minister has been checking the records to compare the practices of this House and the House of Representatives. Does he realise that, in 1994 in the federal parliament, the gag was moved at the rate of once in every 3 to 4 sitting days. In the first 6 months of this year, when debate was becoming more furious in the lead-up to a federal election, the gag was moved once in every 1.5 days, on average. By contrast, in this House in the 5 months since the member for Port Darwin became Chief Minister, in 15 sitting days, the gag has been moved on 25 occasions and leave to table papers has been denied on 7 occasions. To date, this Chief Minister has been applying the gag - and I see the grin on his face - at the rate of 3 times in every 2 days. Does he believe that this is conductive to good parliamentary democracy?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, what this demonstrates is the level of behaviour that the opposition has imported into this Chamber. It is an absolute nonsense for opposition members to stand up and claim that somehow they are the victims of a government that is seeking to prevent them going about their parliamentary business.
We all remember the Parish confession, when the former member for Millner climbed onto the radio to say that it was his job to run interference, cause disruption and push matters close to the edge. At that time, the Leader of the Opposition climbed onto the radio or the television to state that the former member for Millner had been wrong. We asked who was the new bulldog in the pack: the member for Nhulunbuy or the member for Wanguri? It is quite evident, to anyone who listens to these broadcasts or who sits in the public gallery, that the Labor opposition is completely preoccupied with running interference in the way that this House conducts itself. Thus, members opposite should not compare themselves with the opposition in the federal parliament. Members of the federal opposition have much more skill and make a much greater contribution to parliamentary debate and democracy than members opposite can claim to have done.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You seek very deliberately to disrupt every sitting of parliament. You set out to filibuster deliberately. You set out very deliberately to seek out confrontation ...
Mr Stirling: As you are doing now.
Mr STONE: ... with ministers and government members to try to engender a reign of chaos. Well, you will not get away with it.
Mr Bailey: The little fascist on the other side ...
Members interjecting.
Page 1057
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member to withdraw that remark.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr STONE: You see, that was not hard, was it?
Mr Ede: Aren't you a little smarty.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, they are slow learners. I am sure people listening to this broadcast ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr STONE: It really gets up your nose, doesn't it? You are such a loser. You are the biggest loser the Labor Party has ever produced. You are the bloke who took Labor into the last election with 9 members and came out with 7 - and they came out and said: `Three cheers for Brian Burke!'
Members interjecting
Mr STONE: What a winner! What a loser!
Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that the opposition has its opportunity to be heard. We always provide the opposition with the opportunity to have its say.
Mr Ede: Rubbish!
Mr STONE: However, what we will not indulge in is the constant time-wasting, filibustering and attempts to engage government ministers with the usual vitriol that runs back and forth. I say to the Leader of the Opposition that members of the opposition should make their debate and contributions more meaningful. They should research ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You do not do your homework. That is one of your problems. You are inherently lazy - the lot of you. You do not do your homework ...
Mr Ede: You have not answered a question on notice in 5 months.
Mr STONE: I urge the Leader of the Opposition ...
Mr Stirling: You gag debate every time we do.
Mr STONE: ... to make a new year's resolution to turn over a new leaf. If he comes into the Chamber next year and makes a useful contribution to debate, he will find that we will be prepared to listen. The members for Wanguri and Nhulunbuy interject constantly. Members opposite wonder then why they receive the response that they do. I know that their interjections are a substitute for hard work. Come on, boys and girls, it really is time for you
Page 1058
to put your noses to the grindstone, do some work and throw off the tag of being the laziest opposition in Australia.
Page 1059
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, what this demonstrates is the level of behaviour that the opposition has imported into this Chamber. It is an absolute nonsense for opposition members to stand up and claim that somehow they are the victims of a government that is seeking to prevent them going about their parliamentary business.
We all remember the Parish confession, when the former member for Millner climbed onto the radio to say that it was his job to run interference, cause disruption and push matters close to the edge. At that time, the Leader of the Opposition climbed onto the radio or the television to state that the former member for Millner had been wrong. We asked who was the new bulldog in the pack: the member for Nhulunbuy or the member for Wanguri? It is quite evident, to anyone who listens to these broadcasts or who sits in the public gallery, that the Labor opposition is completely preoccupied with running interference in the way that this House conducts itself. Thus, members opposite should not compare themselves with the opposition in the federal parliament. Members of the federal opposition have much more skill and make a much greater contribution to parliamentary debate and democracy than members opposite can claim to have done.
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You seek very deliberately to disrupt every sitting of parliament. You set out to filibuster deliberately. You set out very deliberately to seek out confrontation ...
Mr Stirling: As you are doing now.
Mr STONE: ... with ministers and government members to try to engender a reign of chaos. Well, you will not get away with it.
Mr Bailey: The little fascist on the other side ...
Members interjecting.
Page 1057
Mr SPEAKER: Order! I ask the member to withdraw that remark.
Mr BAILEY: Mr Speaker, I withdraw.
Mr STONE: You see, that was not hard, was it?
Mr Ede: Aren't you a little smarty.
Mr STONE: Mr Speaker, they are slow learners. I am sure people listening to this broadcast ...
Mr Ede interjecting.
Mr STONE: It really gets up your nose, doesn't it? You are such a loser. You are the biggest loser the Labor Party has ever produced. You are the bloke who took Labor into the last election with 9 members and came out with 7 - and they came out and said: `Three cheers for Brian Burke!'
Members interjecting
Mr STONE: What a winner! What a loser!
Let me say to the Leader of the Opposition that the opposition has its opportunity to be heard. We always provide the opposition with the opportunity to have its say.
Mr Ede: Rubbish!
Mr STONE: However, what we will not indulge in is the constant time-wasting, filibustering and attempts to engage government ministers with the usual vitriol that runs back and forth. I say to the Leader of the Opposition that members of the opposition should make their debate and contributions more meaningful. They should research ...
Members interjecting.
Mr STONE: You do not do your homework. That is one of your problems. You are inherently lazy - the lot of you. You do not do your homework ...
Mr Ede: You have not answered a question on notice in 5 months.
Mr STONE: I urge the Leader of the Opposition ...
Mr Stirling: You gag debate every time we do.
Mr STONE: ... to make a new year's resolution to turn over a new leaf. If he comes into the Chamber next year and makes a useful contribution to debate, he will find that we will be prepared to listen. The members for Wanguri and Nhulunbuy interject constantly. Members opposite wonder then why they receive the response that they do. I know that their interjections are a substitute for hard work. Come on, boys and girls, it really is time for you
Page 1058
to put your noses to the grindstone, do some work and throw off the tag of being the laziest opposition in Australia.
Page 1059
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016