houses in motion

Despite the last post's claim that "we're back", we've been a bit quiet recently. Of course, the state governmental happenings haven't been; the likes of Brian Burke have done their part to make this quite an interesting time. However, we do now have 'exciting' news...

We've moved House(s) to wordpress, hosted over at hansardblog.wordpress.com. All your favourite posts available at this domain have been migrated across, so you'll still get a slice of Budget Pie, five million exchanges involving daylight savings, and that disturbing thing about the mud cake... At the moment everything is organised only by speaker - considering the unwieldy mess that is the categories to the right of this post, we're still deliberating whether further categorisation is a good thing or not...

So, we're still active, just not here. Any questions, queries or comments, send us an email, and we'll hopefully see you in the other place for more of the odd goings-on in the state that we are in...

and we're back

MR G. WOODHAMS (Greenough) [3.07 pm]: I will not spend a long time on my feet. The member for Vasse reminds me of the Muppets and Sesame Street. Today could well and truly be sponsored by the letter D - it is a disgraceful day, a doubtful day, a detritus day and a disappointing day. The disappointment I have is with members opposite. Most of us on this side of the house have at one time or another had conversations with members on the other side of the house on a range of issues. There are members on this side of the house who would consider those on the other side of the house amongst their friends and associates, with whom they can discuss a range of issues. I presume that most of us have respect for most members of this house. However, it disappoints me that those on the other side of the house do not have the respect of their own colleagues, and they certainly do not have the respect of this side of the house today because they are not defending - another letter D - their Premier in this case, and his cause of rooting out the influence of Burke and Grill in this house. [...] I invite members opposite to explain why they are not supporting their Premier and defending the case of rooting out Burke and Grill from influence in the ALP. This is a very doubtful day.

Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan: We all support it.

Mr G. WOODHAMS: I invite the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure to rise to her feet and build a case.

Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan: I can do that sitting down.

The ACTING SPEAKER: Order, minister!

Several members interjected.

The ACTING SPEAKER: Order! The member for Greenough has the floor. There is no call for conversations across the chamber. I would like to hear what the member for Greenough has to say, and I would like to hear it in relative silence.

Mr G. WOODHAMS: Perhaps I caused that disruption to proceedings by inviting interjections. If I did so, I apologise, Mr Acting Speaker.

I come from a farming background, for which I make no apology. This government reminds me of an old ewe that has secondary fly strike and is riddled with maggots, and even though it has the ability to cure itself, it is taking absolutely no opportunity to do that. Mr Acting Speaker (Mr A.P. O’Gorman), I have read your comment in the paper that you would prefer that the circumstances with regard to Hon Shelley Archer were resolved by having her removed from the Australian Labor Party. Some other members opposite would do well to have the same amount of courage.

Mr R.F. Johnson: The member for Kimberley might want to say something about Hon Shelley Archer, because, as the member knows, she wants the member for Kimberley’s seat!

Mrs C.A. Martin: That is really nasty! I like my seat!

Mr G. WOODHAMS: It is wonderful to chart the progress of the good ship ALP as it staggers from rock to rock and begins to sink. It would seem, though, that the crew of the good ship ALP are about to jump off the ship and leave the rat on board! Hon Shelley Archer is currently still in a position to take her seat in the upper house when it resumes. I advised the Premier earlier that he might like to use Ratsac on that honourable member. If the Premier does not want to take that advice, perhaps he will send the honourable member to “Burketown” in the “Gulf of Carpenteria” -

Several members interjected.

Mr G. WOODHAMS: I am glad members finally got it - Carpenteria!

Subject: Premier - Censure for Failure to Condemn Hon Shelley Archer [Legislative Assembly - Motion]

Date: 1 March 2007

Hansard reference: pp. 234c - 241a [online (pdf)]

Tags: parliament, state government, brian burke, wa, perth

Previously, in the Legislative Assembly...

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: [...] Some of the people who are opposed to daylight saving have been quite vicious in their e-mails. Some people have threatened that I will have my legs broken. Some people have made some nasty comments about my parentage.

Mr T.R. Sprigg: You have broken a few legs in your time! You are the “Godfather”, are you not?

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: I will get to that in a moment!

[...]

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: [...] I do not support everything in this bill. I do not support the referendum. However, I will be supporting the compromise bill that has been introduced by the member for Kalgoorlie and co-sponsored by me, because I believe it will unify the “yes” position and provide the best opportunity to put daylight saving in place at least for three years. At the end of that period, there will be a referendum, and the community -

Mr J.E. McGrath: Why only three years? Why not five years?

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: I would prefer to have no referendum at all.

Mr J.E. McGrath: If 95 per cent of people support it, why do we need a referendum? Why not just do it?

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: Because that is the position that the majority of members in this Parliament seem to support. In the end, this is a democracy, and the majority opinion will prevail.

I also thank the member for Kalgoorlie for giving me his support when I approached him to take a joint position with the government on this matter. His support was fantastic. However, I have a beef with the member for Kalgoorlie. He referred to himself as the father of daylight saving and to me as the godfather of daylight saving. I like to think of both myself and the member for Kalgoorlie as the parents of daylight saving. The only problem is that I am not sure who is the mother and who is the father! We can have that debate on another day.

Mr M.J. Birney: You might have spoken a bit too soon in any case! You should just retract those words for a couple of weeks!

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: Is that right? Is the member suggesting that we should wait until it happens? I actually think the term “godfather” should be given to the member for Hillarys - sorry, the member for Mindarie -

Mr R.F. Johnson: Whaddya say; whaddya say?

Mr J.B. D’ORAZIO: The member has always said he wants to be an Italian!

Mr R.F. Johnson: I am an honorary Italian!

Subject: Daylight Saving Bill (no. 2) 2006 [Legislative Assembly - Standing Orders -- Suspension]

Date: 31 October 2006

Hansard reference: pp. 7886b - 7952a [online (pdf)]

Tags: parliament, state government, perth, wa, dst, daylight savings

Obviously leading to the straw poll that...

1087. Hon ROBIN CHAPPLE to the minister representing the Minister for the Environment:

I refer to the occurrence of stock from pastoral stations straying into nature reserves and national parks in Western Australia.

[...]

(3) What penalties exist for pastoralists who allow stock to enter a nature reserve?
[...]

Hon TOM STEPHENS replied:

[...]

(3) Under section 106(a) of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1984, the penalty for depasturing cattle on Department of Conservation and Land Management land - including nature reserves - is $4 000 and imprisonment for six months.


Under regulation 15(b) of the Conservation and Land Management Regulations 2002, the penalty for allowing an animal to enter or remain on CALM land - including a nature reserve - is $500, or if dealt with by way of an infringement notice, a modified penalty of $50.

I do not know who would be fined for the herd of about 50 camels I saw in the middle of the Rudall River National Park over the weekend, but I suppose the authorities can work out to whom to send the bill.


Hon Peter Foss: They are probably yours.

Hon John Fischer: Are you claiming ownership.

Hon TOM STEPHENS: I am not.

Hon SIMON O’BRIEN: Are they all enrolled?

Hon Kim Chance: They are now!

Subject: Conservation Estate, Grazing Impacts [Legislative Council - Questions Without Notice]

Date: 13 August 2003

Hansard reference: pp. 9845b - 9845b [online (pdf)]

Tags: parliament, camels, wa, perth, state government

The crackle of the radio, a message in the evening sky

710. Mr S.R. HILL to the Minister for Science and Innovation:

Can the minister inform the house of the progress of Australia’s bid to host the square-kilometre array, the biggest radio telescope ever built, and its importance in the mid-west?

Mr F.M. LOGAN replied:

I thank the member for Geraldton for the question. I put on the record my thanks to the member for Geraldton for the role he plays as the chair of the coordinating committee for the Mileura station radio astronomy park and for all the effort he puts into coordinating the number of departments and scientists involved in that project. I thank him very much.

Although all eyes will be on the Australian Football League grand final in Melbourne on Saturday, another one looms on the horizon, but it is a slightly different one. In under six hours we will learn whether the world’s astronomy community has short-listed Australia to host the square-kilometre array, the world’s largest radio telescope. [...] Believe it or not, the world in which we live - I can see it in the wireless network in this place - is bombarded with radio frequencies from wireless networks, radio telephones, radios, televisions, cars and trucks. The whole world is bombarded with various radio frequencies, and to listen in to deep space, and to research the big bang theory and how the universe was created, a radio telescope is required that is not interfered with by radio frequencies.

Mr T. Buswell: Will it pick up the black hole between your ears?

Mr F.M. LOGAN: It is funny that the member for Vasse should say that, because I was just about to say exactly the same thing. I even have it written in my notes. The member beat me to it; well done! We have to get up early to catch him!

On a serious note, for the development of the science industry in Western Australia and for the world to take Western Australia and, more importantly, Australia seriously in the world of science, this project is phenomenal. [...] All the information will be processed by a computer that is so big that it has not even been invented yet! It is enormous.

Several members interjected.

Mr F.M. LOGAN: I have been told - not that I am aware of this level of computing power - that it is about 13 teraflops, which is pretty big - apparently. The possibility is that Geraldton could be the home of this supercomputer. It would put Western Australia on the map, not only in industrial development but also in the science industry, the information and communications technology industry and the computer industry. In particular, it will put Geraldton on the map. As we watch those stars in Melbourne over the weekend, Treasurer - Judd, Cousins and the rest of them - we should remember that we could be looking at other stars in deep space in a few years and we could find out the meaning of life and whether that black hole in the head of the member for Vasse will be resolved.

The SPEAKER: I am not sure whether the word “teraflops” is unparliamentary, but I will check and get back to the minister!

Subject: Square-Kilometre Array - Progress of Bid [Legislative Assembly]

Date: 28 September 2006

Hansard reference: pp. 6931c - 6932a [online (pdf)]

Tags: state government, parliament, perth, wa

Once upon a tie in the West

HON JOHN FISCHER (Mining and Pastoral) [5.55 pm]: I will make one or two precursory remarks before I thank some people. Yesterday, the Minister for Racing and Gaming commented by way of interjection on the tie I was wearing.

Hon Nick Griffiths: You have really dished it up to me today!

Hon JOHN FISCHER: The minister certainly deserves to be complimented on the tie he is wearing today. I am sure that anyone from the racing industry would be extremely proud that the minister is wearing a tie that is extremely befitting of the position he holds. While I am talking about neckties, it would be remiss of me not to mention the ties worn by Hon Peter Foss on occasion, and certainly Hon Robin Chapple runs a very close second to him. I mention this today because my nine-year-old daughter presented me with a musical tie that is certainly fitting for this occasion. It brings out the Christmas feeling!

Hon Kim Chance: I think the honourable member’s tie is out of order!

Hon Ken Travers: I told them not to push your button!

Hon JOHN FISCHER: I think I have a flat battery already, but I am sure I will play it again at a later stage.

Subject: Adjournment of the House [Legislative Council - Special]

Date: 19 December 2002

Hansard reference: pp. 4538b - 4544a [online (pdf)]

Tags: state government, parliament, perth, wa

Email intuition

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: Leaving aside the 3 000-odd e-mails I have received - I could not find in the e-mail river any from people within my electorate. I have been scanning through them as best I can. By and large, I believe they are not people from my electorate who are involved in this electronic campaign.

Mr M.W. Trenorden: What average of those people would e-mail you and me?

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: I do not mind people doing it.

Mr M.W. Trenorden: It collapses my whole office.

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: I do not mind.

Mr M.W. Trenorden: I’ve got one electorate to look after.

The ACTING SPEAKER: Order, members!

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: It is a historic thing; it is unprecedented campaigning in my experience of this place. In 25 years in Parliament I have never seen us experiencing this type of electronic campaign which -

Mr G. Woodhams: Intimidation.

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: No, no, it is not intimidation.

Mr G. Woodhams: Soft-headed modernism!

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: Welcome to the modern world, member! Expect more of it and in big numbers. If anything, those people who are organising our Internet system will need to devise methods for us to conduct electronic business while simultaneously having the opportunity, off to the side, to receive this type of lobbying. I expect we will get more of it.

Mr M.W. Trenorden: Just dump it. Hit the dump button.

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: That is 3 000 hit buttons to get that dump button. There is another way of doing it and most members have worked out how to do it. One puts it across into a discrete area of one’s e-mail. One can see it there growing and every now and then when one wants to have a look, one can do so.

Mr M.J. Birney: You can also do something crazy like read them! How do you know if they are from your electorate if you do not read them?

Several members interjected.

The ACTING SPEAKER: Order, members!

Mr T.G. STEPHENS: I think I have been digressed!

Subject: Daylight Saving Bill (no. 2) 2006 [Legislative Assembly - Standing Orders -- Suspension]

Date: 31 October 2006

Hansard reference: pp. 7886b - 7952a [online (pdf)]

Tags: parliament, state government, perth, wa, dst, daylight savings