❓ Dr Gallop questions Mr Cowan (Leader of the National Party) regarding conflicting statements about the National Party's stance on the Minister for Fair Trading and the President's call for their resignation. Mr Cowan avoids directly answering, asserting the question doesn't reflect National Party policy and defending the President's right to express his opinion.
AnsweredQoN 194Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
My question relates to National Party policy. (1) Was the President of the National Party correct yesterday when he said he was speaking for all lay party members and called on the Minister for Fair Trading to resign or be sacked? (2) If so, why did the Leader of the National Party claim in this place that it was a point of view that “was his, and his alone”? (3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN
AnswerView source ↗
I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(1) Was the President of the National Party correct yesterday when he said he was speaking for all lay party members and called on the Minister for Fair Trading to resign or be sacked? (2) If so, why did the Leader of the National Party claim in this place that it was a point of view that “was his, and his alone”? (3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(2) If so, why did the Leader of the National Party claim in this place that it was a point of view that “was his, and his alone”? (3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(1) Was the President of the National Party correct yesterday when he said he was speaking for all lay party members and called on the Minister for Fair Trading to resign or be sacked? (2) If so, why did the Leader of the National Party claim in this place that it was a point of view that “was his, and his alone”? (3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(2) If so, why did the Leader of the National Party claim in this place that it was a point of view that “was his, and his alone”? (3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(3) Will the minister answer the question he avoided yesterday by stating whether it is National Party policy to support the Minister for Fair Trading continuing in his portfolio? (4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
(4) Or is the minister simply toeing the Liberal Party line by continuing to support a Liberal minister who ought to be dumped, and dumped now? Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN replied: I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
I do not detect any National Party policy in this question. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to express my opinion about comments made by the President of the National Party. The Leader of the Opposition is asking me to deliver - Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr McGinty: Support your president: You have this one right. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: Hang on. Mr Deputy Speaker, question time no longer allows members of the Opposition to elicit information; it merely allows them to ask one question and then gives them the opportunity to pile interjection upon interjection. I do not know what people in the gallery think about those opposite, but they must leave this place with a very poor impression about question time, because it is no longer question time. Let me return to the issue - Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Ms MacTiernan: It is certainly not answer time, that is for sure. Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: Members opposite get the answers but not the answers they like. This is not a matter of National Party policy. The Leader of the Opposition has asked a question about whether the President of the National Party is entitled to express an opinion. The president has expressed an opinion. He has ventured the opinion - and I suspect that he would be correct - that the bulk of people in regional Western Australia feel very concerned about the whole finance brokers deal, and he is entitled to express that opinion. As I said yesterday, and as I will continue to say, he has the right as the president of the party to express that opinion. Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr Gallop interjected. Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr House: Does the Leader of the Opposition support Tony Cooke’s policy on workplace agreements? Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: No, he does not. The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr House: Some people over there do. Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: The President of the National Party is entitled to express his view. He has done that. As I said yesterday, it is his right as the president to do that. Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr Ripper: What is your position? Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
Mr COWAN: My position is exactly as it has always been: I will support the Premier's position in respect of all the ministers of the Crown on this side of the House. That is the position I have always taken.
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