❓ Question regarding the Labor Party's poor performance in the Merredin by-election and its potential loss of the Electoral Commission deposit. The Premier avoids directly answering, congratulating the National Party and defending the government's reform agenda.
AnsweredQoN 576Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
MERREDIN BY-ELECTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY VOTE
I refer the Premier to the result of the Merredin by-election, which was the lowest Labor primary vote in any Legislative Assembly seat since 1905. (1) Can the Premier confirm that with a vote of barely 9 per cent, the Labor Party will not even get back its Electoral Commission deposit? (2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP
I refer the Premier to the result of the Merredin by-election, which was the lowest Labor primary vote in any Legislative Assembly seat since 1905. (1) Can the Premier confirm that with a vote of barely 9 per cent, the Labor Party will not even get back its Electoral Commission deposit? (2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(1) Can the Premier confirm that with a vote of barely 9 per cent, the Labor Party will not even get back its Electoral Commission deposit? (2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(1) Can the Premier confirm that with a vote of barely 9 per cent, the Labor Party will not even get back its Electoral Commission deposit? (2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(2) Does the Premier concede that Labor Party policies, particularly its electoral change legislation, are directly responsible for its worst election result in 96 years? Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP replied: (1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
(1)-(2) The first thing anyone should have done today is congratulate Brendon Grylls and the National Party on winning the seat of Merredin. That seat was heavily contested between the former coalition partners, and what we should have done in this Parliament today is congratulate the National Party on winning that seat. Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Mr Marshall: Answer the question! Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: I will answer the question in my own way. That election contest was never one in which there would be a great result for the Labor Party. The truth of the matter is that the election for that seat was effectively a contest between the Liberal and National Parties. Merredin is hardly a stronghold of the Labor Party. At the best of times in that electoral district we get about 15 per cent of the vote, which is a pretty dramatic result in terms of the political preferences of the people in that area. The people in that area are very conservative and voted for one of the two conservative parties; and 11 per cent of the people in that area voted for One Nation. I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
I noted that the Liberal campaign director for that seat was the member for Mitchell. We did not see him in the Parliament the week before last. He was not using any of his parliamentary resources on that campaign, was he? Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Several members interjected. Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: No; he would not dream of it. I am very pleased to hear that. The Liberal Party was saying that people should vote Liberal, because the National Party is supporting these terrible social reform measures that are going through the State Parliament. I refer to the de facto relationship legislation, and the Acts Amendment (Lesbian and Gay Law Reform) Bill that are before the Parliament. The Liberal Party made social reform an issue, yet the National Party won the seat! What does that tell us about the issue? For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
For the first time for many decades in Western Australian history there is a serious reform Government. The Labor Government wants Western Australia to come into not only the twentieth century but also the twenty-first century. A reform Government will get a bit of flak in its early days. However, we want to make a difference to Western Australia. We want to know that when we finally leave politics and look back on our period in government, we will be able to say that we made a difference; that members of the Australian Labor Party were part of the team that stopped the logging of old-growth forest, established equality for all citizens, ensured equal voting rights for all Western Australians, and made sure that the rights of those in a de facto relationship were respected and that a proper set of institutions were in place to deal with break-ups in that situation. We are a serious reform Government. Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Mr Omodei: Gay and lesbian people adopting kids! Well done! Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
Dr GALLOP: That is prejudice. The Government is trying to deal with these issues. We recognise that the people of Merredin do not agree with many of those prejudices. A majority of people in Merredin agree with the Government, because they voted for the National Party, which voted with the Government on some of those issues. I congratulate the National Party. The campaign director for the Liberal Party, the member for Mitchell, did not produce a result for the Liberal Party. We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
We know that in the first year of a reform Government we will cop a little flak along the way, but we have the capacity and the will to make a difference in Western Australia.
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