Business Of The House

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Speakers - Whelan Mr Paul; Hartcher Mr Chris
Business - Suspension of Orders

BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE

Suspension of Standing Orders

Mr WHELAN (Ashfield - Minister for Police) [10.02 a.m.]: I move:

That standing orders be suspended to allow the consideration forthwith of a motion for Ms Nancy de Vries to be conducted onto the floor of the House to address the Legislative Assembly and for the calling on of Government business, notice of motion No. 1 standing in the name of the Premier.

Arrangements have been made to interrupt the debates of the House at 10.30 a.m. to allow Ms Nancy de Vries, in her capacity as the representative of the Aboriginal stolen generation, onto the floor of the House. That is the purpose of the motion, and I ask the House to support it.

Mr HARTCHER (Gosford) [10.03 a.m.]: The Opposition does not oppose the motion. It welcomes the attendance this morning of the spokesperson on behalf of the Aboriginal community. The issue is significant, and it is appropriate that it be debated by the House. However, I wish to place on record the Opposition’s concern about the Government’s ongoing policy of inviting non-members of this House or of other parliaments to speak on the floor of the House. This House is part of a representative democracy, and its purpose is to permit issues that come before it to be debated by the people’s chosen representatives. It is not a debating Chamber as such, nor is it a forum for the exchange of public information. There are other more appropriate places for that.

The American practice, of which our Premier is so enthused, is to have ongoing successions of guest speakers to talk about various issues, but that has not been the practice or the policy of Westminster parliaments, of which this House is a part. For example, during the euthanasia debate there was a debate on the floor of the House. Representatives were chosen from each side of the euthanasia debate to put their respective views, as if honourable members were not already aware of what those respective views were. Recently the Vice-President of the Seoul Metropolitan Council addressed the House. Now we are to allow a representative from the Aboriginal community onto the floor of the House.

The issue is important; it is respected, acknowledged and supported by the Opposition. However, the issues that our society faces - the drought, the tragic situation of people with AIDS, the street children, the homeless and the consumption of prohibited drugs in our community - are also important. They should be aired, but that should occur in members’ offices or in the precincts of the Parliament, following which the matters would come before this Chamber for debate. The Government appears to be ignoring that issue. There is a feeling in the community that the Government, unwilling to submit itself to parliamentary scrutiny, as honourable members witnessed yesterday when the standing orders were suspended for two weeks, is prepared to engage in what some might regard as merely media opportunities. That is in no way a detraction from the importance of this debate, but the Government’s bona fides are on the line.

The Government is not prepared to allow debate on matters of urgency. If the Opposition were minded to move a matter of urgency about the stolen Aboriginal children, about the plight of the Aboriginal people, or about Aboriginal health or education, it would be denied that right. The people Page 10522
of New South Wales have been denied the right, through their chosen representatives, to move and debate these issues. The Opposition has been denied the right to debate matters of public importance and, as the position presently stands, to debate the issues in private members’ statements. The Government has appropriated all the parliamentary procedures unto itself. It is only prepared to allow members on the crossbenches, and members of the Liberal Party and the National Party, who represent the majority of the people of this State, to debate issues of its choosing and to do so in a manner that it determines. That is inconsistent with the principles of representative democracy.

I reiterate that the forthcoming debate is important and significant, and I welcome this morning the presence of representatives of the Aboriginal communities. They would not be aware of what happened yesterday when the Government changed the procedures of the House to deny the Opposition the right to raise matters of public importance and matters of urgency, and the right to put before the people of New South Wales matters that their elected representatives would wish to put before them. The Government does not come into this House today with clean hands in respect of any matters before it; the Government has arrogated dictatorship powers over this House and has denied the representatives of the people the right to raise important issues.

Motion for suspension of standing orders agreed to.

Order of Business

Mr WHELAN (Ashfield - Minister for Police) [10.08 a.m.]: I move:

That -

(1) At 10.30 a.m. at this sitting debate be interrupted to allow:

(a) Ms Nancy de Vries, in a capacity representing Aboriginals of the "stolen generation", onto the floor of the House to address the Legislative Assembly; and

(b) The Premier to move the motion of apology to Aboriginal people standing in his name on the business paper for today; and

(2) At the conclusion of the debate the business interrupted at 10.30 a.m. be resumed.

This is a proud day for everyone in the Government and the Australian Labor Party. I do not have any difficulty in allowing members of the community onto the floor of the people’s House. The Treasurer, a member of the upper House, is invited to this House to deliver the budget - a move which is always objected to by members of the Opposition. The Vice-President of the Seoul Metropolitan Council addressed the House in his capacity as Vice-President of the Seoul Metropolitan Council. In the future other members of the community might be invited to address this House. We might have to debate serious issues such as drug law reform in this country. This Government might also enable members of the community to address the House on matters of constitutional reform. We should be proud and delighted that a member of the Aboriginal community will enter this House today to speak on behalf of that community. Today the Premier will apologise to Aboriginal people and speak in support of the motion relating to the stolen generation. This Government will always enable members of interest groups in the community to come to the people’s House.

Mr HARTCHER (Gosford) [10.11 a.m.]: This is a proud and important day. Nothing could detract from that pride or from the importance of this day. The issue about which the Opposition is concerned is not the significance of today’s debate but the Government’s denial of freedom of debate. For the hour in which this motion will be debated there will be bipartisanship from all honourable members. After debate on that matter is completed the Government will use the gag to prevent debate on other matters. It is prepared to suspend standing orders to prevent members from raising matters of public significance. That is the issue that has to be addressed.

Mr Whelan: This is very important to the public.

Mr HARTCHER: It is certainly important to the public. But at 11.30, when debate on that matter has concluded, the Government will revert to using the jackboot to confiscate hotel rooms, walking all over representative democracy and preventing honourable members who represent 54 per cent of New South Wales from raising matters of urgency, introducing matters of public importance, moving no confidence motions and moving censure motions. Yesterday a censure motion was moved against the Premier - a significant parliamentary procedure and an important parliamentary debate. What did the Government do?

Mr Whelan: It is a waste of time.

Mr HARTCHER: The Leader of the Government says that it is a waste of time. He does not want 54 per cent of the people who represent the Page 10523
community to talk about the Premier of this State. He does not want the Premier’s record held up or debated in this House. That is the sort of democracy we are getting in New South Wales.

Mr Whelan: Are you telling me that this is not as important as the bed tax? This is far more important! You know it is!

Mr HARTCHER: We regard debate on this matter as extremely important. The Opposition will support the motion. The Leader of the Government is playing to the gallery. What a poser he is! We know him from old. The Government will be democratic for the next 1� hours and at 11.30 the jackboots will come out.

Motion agreed to.

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