❓ Mr Birney questions Premier Gallop about the 'one vote, one value' legislation, highlighting opposition to it and calling for a referendum. Premier Gallop defends the legislation, asserting a mandate and criticising the opposition's historical stance.
AnsweredQoN 514Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
ONE VOTE, ONE VALUE LEGISLATION, REFERENDUM
I refer to the Premier’s so-called one vote, one value legislation that would transfer eight country seats to Perth. (1) Is the Premier aware that the overwhelming majority of presentations to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council have been in strong opposition to the Government’s plan? (2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP
I refer to the Premier’s so-called one vote, one value legislation that would transfer eight country seats to Perth. (1) Is the Premier aware that the overwhelming majority of presentations to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council have been in strong opposition to the Government’s plan? (2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(1) Is the Premier aware that the overwhelming majority of presentations to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council have been in strong opposition to the Government’s plan? (2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(1) Is the Premier aware that the overwhelming majority of presentations to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council have been in strong opposition to the Government’s plan? (2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(2) Will the Premier now concede he does not have a mandate on this issue and agree to the Liberal Party’s call for a referendum? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
(1)-(2) I know that the member for Kalgoorlie has been fishing recently, but I can assure him that I will not take the bait on this one. Did I hear the member for Kalgoorlie say that the overwhelming majority of submissions to the Standing Committee on Legislation of the Legislative Council were against one vote, one value? That does not surprise me, given that from what I understand, most of the people who gave evidence to the committee were members of the Opposition. It is true that there was very little public involvement in the work of that committee. Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Mr Trenorden: It was not advertised; nobody knew about it. Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: That is a matter for the Legislative Council. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
The SPEAKER: Order! Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: I was in Geraldton on Saturday afternoon. I congratulate the Rotary Club of Geraldton for the magnificent memorial that it has constructed in Geraldton to recognise the 645 Australian men who lost their lives on HMAS Sydney . I can safely say to the Parliament that the monument will become a leading icon in Australia for remembering our veterans from the Second World War. I was in Geraldton last week with the member for Geraldton. Perhaps the member for Geraldton might remind me how many people went to the committee hearing in Geraldton. Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Mr Hill: Four. Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
Dr GALLOP: I think one of them was the member for Greenough and the other was Hon Murray Criddle. Fifty per cent of those attending the hearing were Liberal and National Party members of Parliament. The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
The Australian Labor Party since 1911 has been going into elections, certainly for the Legislative Assembly, if not the Legislative Council, with the object of establishing one vote, one value for election to the Parliament. That is not a bad effort. Those efforts have been thwarted on each occasion by the Legislative Council. However, the Legislative Council is a little nervous now because its complexion has changed a bit. The Opposition has now taken up the notion of a referendum and discovered the will of the people, when for nearly 100 years it used its numbers in the upper House - for many of those years numbers based on a property franchise, and not a franchise based on the people of this State - to thwart the will of the people. If there is one issue in Western Australia for which the Labor Party can say it has a mandate, it is this one. In the 1996 election the previous Government had a mandate for one vote, one value. It chose not to carry on with it, after saying to the people before the election that it would. The former Deputy Premier and former Leader of the National Party, Hendy Cowan, and the former Premier, Richard Court, said they were in favour of one vote, one value. All we are doing is implementing the policies they said they would introduce after the 1996 election. Let us get down to brass tacks: it does not matter who anyone is in Western Australia; people should have equal voting rights. That is our principle; that is our commitment; and we have a mandate for it.
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