❓ Ms. Mettam questions the Premier's handling of a petition regarding the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, accusing him of dismissing it and yielding to pressure from Canberra. The Premier denies these claims, asserting his government listens to the people and acted in their best interests after acknowledging they "got it wrong".
AnsweredQoN 448Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ABORIGINAL CULTURAL HERITAGE
ACT — PETITION
448. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
spectacular backflip on Labor's Aboriginal cultural heritage laws.
(1) Does the
Premier regret rubbishing the petition that called for a six-month delay as
just an e-petition?
(2) Does the
Premier regret not listening to the almost 30 000 Western Australians who
signed this petition until he was pressured by Canberra?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order, please, members! I am just waiting for order, please. Premier.
ACT — PETITION
448. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I refer to the Premier's
spectacular backflip on Labor's Aboriginal cultural heritage laws.
(1) Does the
Premier regret rubbishing the petition that called for a six-month delay as
just an e-petition?
(2) Does the
Premier regret not listening to the almost 30 000 Western Australians who
signed this petition until he was pressured by Canberra?
Several members
interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Order, please, members! I am just waiting for order, please. Premier.
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) One
thing we notice is that we have questions from the Leader of the Opposition
that we do not agree with but which we respect and acknowledge are truthful;
then we have questions from the member for Vasse that we neither respect nor
believe are based on fact. In this case, it is very much the same.
I have never rubbished anyone who has
petitioned this Parliament; that is not the case. If members want an example of
a Premier who listens to the people, it is on display today. That is precisely
what we have done. We have done that in the interests of governing for all Western
Australians.
We accept that we got it wrong and we
apologised to the people of Western Australia. That process would have been a complete anathema to members opposite
when they were in government. We believe in serving on behalf of the
people of Western Australia and we have listened to them and acted accordingly.
In the final phrases of the
falsehoods that came from the member for Vasse in her question this afternoon,
the member said that we were pressured by Canberra. We were not.
thing we notice is that we have questions from the Leader of the Opposition
that we do not agree with but which we respect and acknowledge are truthful;
then we have questions from the member for Vasse that we neither respect nor
believe are based on fact. In this case, it is very much the same.
I have never rubbished anyone who has
petitioned this Parliament; that is not the case. If members want an example of
a Premier who listens to the people, it is on display today. That is precisely
what we have done. We have done that in the interests of governing for all Western
Australians.
We accept that we got it wrong and we
apologised to the people of Western Australia. That process would have been a complete anathema to members opposite
when they were in government. We believe in serving on behalf of the
people of Western Australia and we have listened to them and acted accordingly.
In the final phrases of the
falsehoods that came from the member for Vasse in her question this afternoon,
the member said that we were pressured by Canberra. We were not.
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