❓ Dr. Walker questions the Premier's dismissal of an e-petition regarding the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act, highlighting potential inconsistencies in the government's view of petition validity. The response accuses Dr. Walker of quoting the Premier out of context and clarifies the Premier's understanding of the petition type.
AnsweredQoN 714Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
ABORIGINAL CULTURAL
HERITAGE ACT — LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PETITION
714. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer the Premier to page 8 of
today's The West Australian , where he is quoted as saying that a
petition numbering in excess of 29 000 signatures requesting a delay to the
implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act was just an e-petition
and not a proper petition.
(1) Has the
Premier familiarised himself with the standing orders, which make no
distinction between the validity of an e-petition and a paper one?
(2) Should we take his comments to indicate that the
government has broken from the rest of us here in Parliament and now believes in a two-tier petition system,
with some signatures worth more, or less, than others?
HERITAGE ACT — LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL PETITION
714. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Leader of the House
representing the Premier:
I refer the Premier to page 8 of
today's The West Australian , where he is quoted as saying that a
petition numbering in excess of 29 000 signatures requesting a delay to the
implementation of the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act was just an e-petition
and not a proper petition.
(1) Has the
Premier familiarised himself with the standing orders, which make no
distinction between the validity of an e-petition and a paper one?
(2) Should we take his comments to indicate that the
government has broken from the rest of us here in Parliament and now believes in a two-tier petition system,
with some signatures worth more, or less, than others?
AnswerView source ↗
That is hilarious, but completely
out of context.
(1)–(2) The
premise of the question is incorrect, and the member is quoting the Premier's
comments out of context. The Premier's full quote was —
� I want to apologise because I did
not realise that the members opposite were talking about an e-petition. I thought
it was a proper petition.
Several members interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order!
Hon SUE ELLERY : Can members
just wait? I quote —
I thought it was a proper petition.
It is � an e-petition, is it? All right. That is fair enough. It is good to
clarify that. I thought it was a petition in the traditional means.
As the member would be aware, the
Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly have different standing orders. As
a member of the Legislative Assembly, the Premier is well aware of its standing
orders, which do not permit the use of e-petitions.
out of context.
(1)–(2) The
premise of the question is incorrect, and the member is quoting the Premier's
comments out of context. The Premier's full quote was —
� I want to apologise because I did
not realise that the members opposite were talking about an e-petition. I thought
it was a proper petition.
Several members interjected.
The PRESIDENT : Order!
Hon SUE ELLERY : Can members
just wait? I quote —
I thought it was a proper petition.
It is � an e-petition, is it? All right. That is fair enough. It is good to
clarify that. I thought it was a petition in the traditional means.
As the member would be aware, the
Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly have different standing orders. As
a member of the Legislative Assembly, the Premier is well aware of its standing
orders, which do not permit the use of e-petitions.
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