Dessert aisles

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: [...] I know the supermarkets used milk as a loss leader marketing arrangement, because the milk is always down the bottom end of the store. They are not interested in how much milk they really sell; it is more a case of getting people to walk down those aisles. Suckers like me see something new on the shelf and decide to try it, so I am sent to purchase half a dozen items and I come back with 12.

Hon Barbara Scott: Spending the housekeeping?

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: That is what my wife keeps saying to me. She says that I spend her money quickly.

Hon Kim Chance: It is a bloke thing. They should never send us shopping.

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: That is quite true.

Subject: Marketings of Eggs Amendment Bill 2004 [Legislative Council - Second Reading]

Date: 19 August 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 5231b - 5249a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, perth, state government, parliament

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

Eggciting times

HON BRUCE DONALDSON (Agricultural) [2.00 pm]: This Bill amends the Marketing of Eggs Act 1945 and provides for the expiry of the Act and the dissolution of the Western Australian Egg Marketing Board before 31 December 2005. The expiry of the Act will fulfil the State’s national competition policy obligations on egg marketing. I guess we, as legislators in this place, have always been cautious about deregulating any industry. We want to ensure that the decision we make is the right one. We do not want to finish up with egg on our face!

Several members interjected.

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: Order, members!

[...]

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: [...] Reading page after page of the bureaucratic letter, one must unscramble the fiction and the bureaucratic speak to get to the conclusions.

Hon Kim Chance: One should also not count chickens before they hatch.

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: Most certainly not. They probably poached this from another document, and just changed the wording. That is very important to understand.

Hon Simon O’Brien: Is the wording scrambled?

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: I had to unscramble it to find the facts in this piece of bureaucratic information.

Subject: Marketing of Eggs Amendment Bill 2004 [Legislative Council - Second Reading]

Date: 19 August 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 5231b - 5249a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Lock it in

Mr P.D. OMODEI: Does the member know what karnal bunt is?

Ms M.M. QUIRK: I certainly do, member for Warren-Blackwood. I have a copy of the wheat industry biosecurity plan of July 2002, which notes that there has been a low level of surveillance for karnal bunt in the sampling of grain receivals. In July 2002 the risk was assessed as being relatively low. Given the observations in the budget papers, has the parliamentary secretary reassessed the threat of karnal bunt?

Mr F.M. LOGAN: At this point is it possible for me to phone a friend?

The CHAIRMAN: You may have a lifeline!

Mr F.M. LOGAN: Maybe I can go for a 50-50! I will be able to answer this question because I know the member for Girrawheen has a particular fascination with karnal bunt. I am glad that she did not get the first letters of this particular disease around the wrong way!

The CHAIRMAN: No spoonerisms around here!

Subject: Division 11: Agriculture, $120 243 00 - [Legislative Assembly - Estimates Committee]

Date: 19 May 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 288b - 303a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

The need for direction

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: [...] Is this a question of the manner of teaching? Is it a question of content? For example, would it be a contravention of the subclause if a music teacher taught maths, when the person was employed on condition that music only be taught because the person was competent to teach music only? I do not think that would relate to the way a person practises. If the person taught in a way that was too didactic in his or her presentation, as I would have -

Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich: I was just going to say that.

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: That is why I used it. I gave Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich a chance to wake up, did I not, sweetheart?

Withdrawal of Remark

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN (Hon Simon O’Brien): Order! That exchange might have been between the honourable member and Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich, in which case it was unruly. However, if I am being unfair and the honourable member was addressing the Chair, he should not do so using the term “sweetheart”!

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: I withdraw my unparliamentary language, Mr Deputy Chairman.

Subject: Western Australian College of Teaching Bill 2003 [Legislative Council - Committee]

Date: 7 May 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 2519b - 2535a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Twice shy

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: [...] Anyway, the odontologist showed us the most grotesque bite marks on the anatomies of some people. He said that the Bill had failed to state that the examination of a bite mark on a body must be made within the first 24 hours. He gave us an example of a person who had robbed a bakery overnight and had eaten a piece of chocolate cake. He was able to match the bite mark on the piece of cake to the mouth of the person from whom they had taken the - what do they call it?

Hon Nick Griffiths: Swab?

Hon BRUCE DONALDSON: No, not a swab, it was the bite mark.

Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich: What does it start with?

Hon Derrick Tomlinson: Somebody’s teeth sinking into your skin!

Subject: Committee Reports and Ministerial Statements - Consideration [Legislative Council - Committee]

Date: 5 March 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 525d - 539a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

ACME Insurance Brokers

MR M. McGOWAN (Rockingham - Parliamentary Secretary) [1.07 pm]: [...] On the impact that this legislation will have, the member for Merredin commented upon a hypothetical case in which someone who wanted insurance for a horse had the phone hung up on him.

Mr B.J. Grylls: It was not a hypothetical case; it was me.

Mr M. McGOWAN: Was the phone hung up on the member?

Mr B.J. Grylls: No, the insurance broker said to me that he was not interested. As soon as I mentioned a horse and property, the insurance broker told me to ring somebody else.

Mr M. McGOWAN: What was the beep, beep, beeping? You said there was beep, beep, beeping.

Mr B.J. Grylls: I said that that may as well have been what happened.

Mr T.K. Waldron: And the roadrunner was going past at the same time!

Subject: Civil Liability Amendment Bill 2004 [Legislative Assembly - Consideration in Detail]

Date: 16 June 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 3769c - 3774a [online (pdf)]

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

It's a start

HON FRANK HOUGH (Agricultural) [5.47 pm]: I have a tremendous dilemma regarding this Bill. Although I have been in Parliament for three years this month and have been in business for 30 years, this is probably one of the most difficult issues with which I have had to deal. Like Ian Thorpe on the starting blocks, I was about to enter into the race but, unfortunately, I have fallen into the swimming pool and I do not know whether to further contribute to the race. It is most difficult.

Hon Simon O’Brien: That is where the similarity ends.

Hon FRANK HOUGH: I probably cannot swim as well as Ian Thorpe, but I have a paddle pool at home.

Subject: Human Reproductive Technology Amendment Bill 2003 [Legislative Council - Second Reading]

Date: 4 May 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 2102e - 2111a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament, ian thorpe

Sure of the dead

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: As the minister is obviously aware, that is a recent Act. What was in the mind of the minister when she brought that Bill into Parliament concerning leaving a child unsupervised? Was there a specific time frame? Did it concern leaving a child unsupervised when a parent popped into a neighbour’s house to check on something or when she went to pick up another child? It is a bit of a job getting a baby in and out of a baby seat in a car.

Mr P.G. Pendal: That is the same as murder; you have been told that because that is what is in the schedule.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: Exactly, but it cannot be the same as murder.

Mr P.G. Pendal: One would not think so.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: Murder is pretty definite.

Mr P.G. Pendal: It is a bit.

Subject: Working With Children (Criminal Record Checking) Bill 2004 [Legislative Assembly - Second Reading]

Date: 26 October 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 7273i - 7309a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament

Happier days?

Ah, a reshuffle in time for Christmas. Cheers Ljiljanna, honours would be on the way but apparently the OBE's got a bit lost...

Hon NORMAN MOORE: [...] I find it interesting that the Labor Party, which I suspect has more positions on this matter than the Kamasutra -

Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich: How would you know? Have you read the Kamasutra?

Hon NORMAN MOORE: I have and I am familiar with the lot of them!

The PRESIDENT: Order! Let us not get distracted.

Hon Ljiljanna Ravlich: You just don’t look like that sort of bloke.

Hon Peter Foss interjected.

The PRESIDENT: Order! If the honourable minister and Hon Peter Foss wish to discuss this matter further, they can do so without the Leader of the Opposition.

Hon NORMAN MOORE: Is it not extraordinary the things that excite the Minister for Local Government! Just the mention of the Kamasutra made her almost jump out of her chair. That might be number 459!

Subject: Retail Trading Hours Amendment (Referendums) Bill 2004 [Legislative Council - Second Reading]

Date: 23 November 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 8388c - 8395a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament, kamasutra, ravlich

It was bound to be there...

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: [...] I love it when the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure interjects on me, because it always gives me a second wind. She knows better than to interject on me but she never learns.

Ms A.J. MacTiernan: Yes, but we live in hope that one day you will learn.

Mr R.F. JOHNSON: No. One day the minister will learn that she should not let her mouth run ahead of her brain. She should do it the other way round: she should think what she is going to say and then say it; and in many cases perhaps she should not say it. Then we would get through legislation quicker. The Minister for Planning and Infrastructure is a friend of mine and I like her. I do not like saying these things about her. However, I want to get back to this Bill, because it is important, and I seriously mean that.

Ms A.J. MacTiernan: The only Bill you are interested in is the one on television at 7.30 pm on a Tuesday.

Ms S.M. McHale: At 8.30 pm.

Subject: Children and Community Development Bill 2003 [Legislative Assembly - Consideration in Detail]

Date: 4 March 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 412b - 428a [online (pdf)]

Tags: wa, state government, perth, parliament, the bill

Old hoons

HON DERRICK TOMLINSON (East Metropolitan) [7.47 pm]: [...] Every time I drive down Onslow Road these days I find myself driving at 44 kilometres an hour.

Hon Graham Giffard: It happens when you get old.

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: No, it does not happen when people get old; it happens when good behaviour is positively reinforced.

Hon Graham Giffard: My mother does 44 kilometres an hour everywhere.

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: If I were the member’s mother I would be very cautious too, because look what happened once when she was not paying attention

[...]

HON DERRICK TOMLINSON (East Metropolitan) [7.47 pm]: [...] I have heard reference to hoons and burnouts. I think I know what a burnout is. I have seen young people do burnouts. I am not quite sure what a hoon is. I went to the Oxford English Dictionary, and the nearest definition I could get to “hoon” was “hooligan”. A “hooligan” is the name given to Irishmen of south London who were associated with ruffian groups. I do not know whether “hoon” is an abbreviation of “hooligan”, but there is no reference to hoons in the dictionary. I understand that these hoons do burnouts in particular places in Perth, such as the car park at Scarborough Beach. I understand also that these hoons do drag-racing along Leach Highway and in Rockingham.

Hon Jim Scott: I think a hoon is a hooligan at speed.

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: I see. I do not know who they are. All I know is that I can recall as a 16 or 17-year-old fellow meeting a group of my peers every Friday night at the Bright Spot at Sandringham Hill. They were not called hoons. They were called the boys. The boys used to meet at the Bright Spot, and they all drove hotted-up 1936 Ford V8s -

Hon Peter Foss: Great stuff!

Hon DERRICK TOMLINSON: They were. I saw one being driven on the road ahead of me just the other day. It was an absolutely beautiful vehicle - a hotted-up 1936 Ford V8. The boys would stand around getting high on hamburgers. They were real hamburgers in those days - not Kentucky Fried hamburgers, but real hamburgers. [...] We are told that these hoons are driving these $50 000 vehicles and are doing burnouts in the car park at Scarborough Beach, and are racing along Leach Highway at three o’clock in the morning and are a danger to everyone else on the road. Anyone who is on the road at three o’clock in the morning would need to explain why he or she is there. As for people in the car park at Scarborough Beach, I do not know that that represents a threat to life and limb on the road. These hoons are doing exactly what the boys of my acquaintance were doing.

Subject: ROAD TRAFFIC AMENDMENT (IMPOUNDING AND CONFISCATION OF VEHICLES) BILL 2004 (WA Legislative Council, second reading)

Date: Tuesday, 1 June 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 3064d — 3076a [online (PDF)]

The village idiot

Ms S.E. WALKER (Nedlands): That was why I was concerned about JPs. I endorse what other members have said about JPs; they do a great job. However, they do not have any regular or mandatory ongoing training.

Mr J.A. McGinty: But this legislation will require them to do the initial training course.

Ms S.E. WALKER: Yes, but they could do that training course and then not know anything about, for instance, the laws that the Attorney General introduced that relate to the Sentencing Act. [...] Has anyone, in looking at this package, done any research into whether this could act unfairly on people in the community when they are sentenced? For instance, does the Attorney General have any statistics on how many people have been sentenced by justices of the peace in Western Australia, and for what and how long?

Mr J.A. McGINTY: I do not have those statistics with me. There is no change in terms of the eligibility criteria proposed in this Bill. One might make the same comments about members of Parliament. We could ask what is the requirement to be a member of Parliament. The only requirement is that a person be elected. That does not mean that that person has any knowledge, ability, skill or capacity. A person could be the village idiot and be a member of Parliament. Perhaps some are.

Ms S.E. Walker: Some are. I am looking to my left.

Subject: Justices of the Peace Bill 2003

Date: 1 April 2004

Hansard reference: pp. 1536c - 1558a [online (pdf)]