❓ Question criticises the Premier's prioritisation of electoral reform over drought relief. The Premier defends the government's actions, highlighting their drought support and commitment to fairness.
AnsweredQoN 309Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
I refer the Premier, as Chairman of the Cabinet Standing Committee on Regional Development, to today’s The West Australian , which reported that severe drought conditions were affecting more than 35 000 people in regional Western Australia. (1) How can the Premier justify to regional Western Australia the expense of a multimillion dollar High Court challenge in pursuit of the Government’s electoral reform obsession when regional Western Australia is suffering its worst drought in recent history? (2) What will he say to the 8 000 of the 12 000 commercial farmers who are suffering when they ask him why those millions of dollars are not being spent on educational support to keep their children in school? (3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(1) How can the Premier justify to regional Western Australia the expense of a multimillion dollar High Court challenge in pursuit of the Government’s electoral reform obsession when regional Western Australia is suffering its worst drought in recent history? (2) What will he say to the 8 000 of the 12 000 commercial farmers who are suffering when they ask him why those millions of dollars are not being spent on educational support to keep their children in school? (3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(2) What will he say to the 8 000 of the 12 000 commercial farmers who are suffering when they ask him why those millions of dollars are not being spent on educational support to keep their children in school? (3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(1) How can the Premier justify to regional Western Australia the expense of a multimillion dollar High Court challenge in pursuit of the Government’s electoral reform obsession when regional Western Australia is suffering its worst drought in recent history? (2) What will he say to the 8 000 of the 12 000 commercial farmers who are suffering when they ask him why those millions of dollars are not being spent on educational support to keep their children in school? (3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(2) What will he say to the 8 000 of the 12 000 commercial farmers who are suffering when they ask him why those millions of dollars are not being spent on educational support to keep their children in school? (3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(3) What will he say to regional businesses that are also suffering from the impact of the drought when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on business incentive packages to keep their young apprentices and trainees employed? (4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(4) What will he say to regional communities when they ask why those millions of dollars are not being spent on providing support with mental health resources tailored to the needs of country people to help them through this devastating time? Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP replied: (1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
(1)-(4) The Leader of the National Party is wrong. We are not talking about a multimillion dollar challenge in the High Court. It is interesting that the previous Government spent millions of dollars in the High Court defending its racially discriminatory native title legislation. That was money that could have been spent in rural and regional Western Australia. On this occasion, we are going to the Parliament. It will not be a multimillion dollar expenditure. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: The best estimate I have at the moment is that the Government would need to spend about $100 000 to pursue this issue. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
The SPEAKER: Order! Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: My Government is quite capable of developing policies and making commitments to deal with the very serious drought in Western Australia, while at the same time pursuing a fair electoral system for all Western Australians; and, on top of that - to use a reference to American politics - of chewing gum at the same time. The Leader of the National Party is very transparent in his efforts to politicise this issue. The people of rural and regional Western Australia know the commitments that we have made to them to give them support to cope with the drought. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: They know the support we have given them in terms of our commitments on drought. They were widely applauded by the rural community. We have put our money where our mouth is on this issue. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: I say very quietly to the Leader of the National Party: the philosophy that we bring to bear in making sure that we can deal with the drought and look after rural constituents is exactly the same philosophy that we bring to bear to our electoral system. It all adds up to this: we will treat everyone equally in Western Australia, whatever their needs and interests may be. Rural people have a particular need and a particular interest in terms of the drought, and we will make sure that need is met. It is pretty obvious that the National Party is the one political party in Western Australia today that is treating the issue of electoral reform in terms of its blatant self-interest. Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Several members interjected. Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: So it is not treating it in terms of its blatant self-interest? What we are doing is - Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Mr C.J. Barnett: You do not govern for the people of this State. You govern just for the Labor Party. You do not give a rats about the people of this State. You display that every day. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
Dr G.I. GALLOP: Once upon a time I spoke of the Opposition as the great ship of misery. It is now the great ship of irrelevance. If the National Party wants to play politics with the drought, let it play it. We on this side of the House will go out to the rural communities and help them solve their problems.
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