The sound of silencers

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: [...] I concur with the comments of my colleague the shadow Minister for Police, the member for Kalgoorlie, about paintball. I have never played it, but it sounds like fun. I do not see that there is a problem with it, provided it is done with instruction and the proper protective clothing is worn. The game is fine as long as the necessary constraints are in place. We have had this debate many times over many years. I remember that when we were in government we were lobbied by people who wanted to be able to play paintball. Why should they not be able to play? I suppose a bit of commonsense is prevailing with the inclusion of these provisions. I suggest that mainly younger people like to play paintball. There should be some sort of age limit for young people who want to play this game. I would not want to see 10-year-olds -

Mr N.R. Marlborough: It is very physical. It should be restricted to people under 60 years of age. Never mind the young ones - keep the old ones out of it. They die without being hit.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: The old ones are more dangerous. The member for Peel would know that. The Opposition supports paintball not being illegal. We do not think it is reasonable to make it illegal.

Let us look at other parts of the Bill. I concur with the comments of my colleague the shadow Minister for Police, the member for Kalgoorlie, about silencers. He speaks a lot of sense in this place.

Ms J.A. Radisich interjected.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: What was that? The member for Swan Hills wants to interject on me. Do not raise your eyebrows at me, young lady - you cheeky thing. Mr Acting Speaker, she is raising her eyebrows at me.

Ms J.A. Radisich: Don’t call me that. You are lucky I let you get away with that.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: My friend the Minister for Small Business is returning to his seat. I feel an interjection coming on.

Ms A.J. MacTiernan: Sit down and get your composure back.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: The minister’s colleague the Leader of the House wants us to keep going until 11 o’clock. I am trying to help him. I am doing my bit for the Leader of the House.

Mr R.C. Kucera interjected.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: Is the Minister for Small Business trying to coax the Acting Speaker?

Mr R.C. Kucera: I am making sure that you withdraw that disgusting comment about this lady here.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: What disgusting comment? I do not make disgusting comments about young ladies.

Mr P.D. Omodei: Why don’t you call a point of order?

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: If the minister thinks I made that comment, he should stand and call a point of order. I would never dream of making a disgusting comment. Gracious me! The minister should not try to verbal me. He will not get anywhere verballing me.

As I was saying about silencers -

Mrs M.H. Roberts: Silence is golden.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: Silence would be golden. We would all like a bit of solitude and silence now. That was certainly on my mind half an hour ago. It would be rather nice to have some silence.

I am talking about silencers on firearms. I want to get back to the Bill before the House. I get sick and tired of distractions from members opposite, who are trying to prevent me saying the words which I want to say and which I firmly believe.

Ms A.J. MacTiernan: You are the most wanton seeker of interjections who has ever spoken.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: I do not know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

The ACTING SPEAKER (Mr A.P. O’Gorman): Members! The member for Hillarys is trying to return to the Bill. The numerous interjections from this side are preventing him doing that. I want to hear the end of his speech.

Subject: Firearms Amendment Bill 2003 [Legislative Assembly - Second Reading]

Date: 2 March 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 121b - 134a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Working on the sequel

A year after this...

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: [...] The parliamentary secretary may not be aware - I was not aware of this matter until it was raised with me - of the problems many our wethers and steers experience with their pizzle. Thankfully, I have not caught it! I have not been out in the paddock long enough. However, I understand it is a major problem. Pizzle rot is occurring everywhere. It is increasing rapidly and causing all sorts of problems for farmers. Is the parliamentary secretary aware of the incidence of pizzle rot in wethers and steers? Is the restricted access to the steroid testosterone impacting on producers?

Mr A.D. McRAE: I might have to defer that question!

The CHAIRMAN: The last parliamentary secretary had to phone a friend; perhaps the parliamentary secretary would like 50-50!

Mr A.D. McRAE: I polished up on my knowledge of carnal bunt and bovine spongiform encephalopathy, but I did not deal with pizzle rot! I might ask some scientists to give us that information by way of supplementary information, because at the moment we are struggling to understand the extent of the problem.

Subject: Division 11: Agriculture, $148 576 000 - [Legislative Assembly - Estimates Committee]

Date: 9 June 2005

Hansard reference: pp. 374b - 387a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Mind and owned business

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: [...] I have a great deal of sympathy for people who run small businesses. I am aware that if a person is running a small business, much of what he does relies on his ability to run that business. He cannot always replace his skills as an owner with somebody who is hired or employed. In a one or two-person business it simply cannot be done. If a person had a small business, he would make sure that -

Ms S.E. Walker: Have you ever had a small business?

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, member for Nedlands!

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: If a person ever had a business, he would never, under any circumstances, employ the member for Nedlands. The last time I saw cow pats stacked as high as the member for Nedlands was in a cow paddock in India. It was a long time ago.

Ms S.E. Walker: How do you run your small business?

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: Like the member runs her small mind.

Ms S.E. Walker: I have a good mind. None of your bulldust.

Mr R.F. Johnson: She has your mark.

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: Mate, she is a legend in her own brain cell; that is her problem.

Ms S.E. Walker interjected.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, member for Nedlands!

Subject: Retail Shops and Fair Trading Legislation Amendment Bill 2003 [Legislative Assembly - Consideration in Detail]

Date: 27 November 2003

Hansard reference: pp. 13830b - 13839a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Sunday's best?

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: [...] I live with a greater degree of deregulation with my nearby shopping centres and small retailers. It is very popular, whether I like it or not. People go to the shopping centres in droves on Sundays. It is not just people from Rockingham; everyone from the metropolitan area comes down to shop at Rockingham on Sundays.

Mr R.F. Johnson: I don’t.

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: The member knows the rules relating to him: we will not let him come down! Is not a question of “I don’t”; it is “we will not let him”!

Subject: Retail Shops and Fair Trading Legislation Amendment Bill 2003 [Legislative Assembly - Consideration in Detail]

Date: 27 November 2003

Hansard reference: pp. 13830b - 13839a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, parliament, perth, sunday trading

I... have no words.

Mr G. WOODHAMS to the Minister Assisting the Minister for Education and Training:
I acknowledge the presence in the house today of students from Nagle Catholic College and Mt Tarcoola Primary School.

It is with some trepidation that I ask this question in bakery parlance, because the person to whom I am about to address my question is more like a mud cake to my matchstick presence.

Several members interjected.

Mr G. WOODHAMS: It should be a process of self-identification, Mr Speaker. No-one knows who I am talking about yet. My question without notice is to the Minister Assisting the Minister for Education and Training. Given small business concerns, particularly in the mid-west, about shortening the length of apprenticeships from four to two years and the subsequent drain of trainees to the mining industry and other parts of the state as a result of the resources boom, I ask -

(1) Is the minister aware that Geraldton’s biggest employer of engineer apprentices, D-Trans Motor Body Builders and General Engineers, now refuses to hire new apprentices because it is not receiving a long-term return from its investment?

(2) Will the minister consider a bonding program to ensure that businesses do not lose apprentices after underwriting their training?

(3) What other initiatives does the minister propose to help small businesses retain trained apprentices in the mid-west?

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH replied:

(1)-(3) The mud cake has arrived.

Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan: You are so tasty!

Several members interjected.

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr N.R. MARLBOROUGH: Even I am turning red.

Subject: Apprentices - Retention by Employers [Legislative Assembly]

Date: 31 May 2006

Hansard reference: pp. 3342b-3343a [online (pdf)]