❓ Opposition questions the Premier about whether the Liberal Party Leaders' Forum falls under the Integrity (Lobbyists) Bill 2011. The Premier denies the forum is a lobbying organisation and accuses the Labor Party of hypocrisy, referencing past fundraising practices.
AnsweredQoN 256Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LIBERAL
PARTY LEADERS' FORUM — INTEGRITY (LOBBYISTS) BILL 2011
256. Mr B.S. WYATT to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I ask again: can the Premier
advise whether the leaders' forum will be captured by the Integrity
(Lobbyists) Bill 2011?
PARTY LEADERS' FORUM — INTEGRITY (LOBBYISTS) BILL 2011
256. Mr B.S. WYATT to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. I ask again: can the Premier
advise whether the leaders' forum will be captured by the Integrity
(Lobbyists) Bill 2011?
AnswerView source ↗
The leaders' forum is not a lobby organisation. In
fact, it is not even a legally constituted organisation, it is just a group.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Only
one person asked the question and I would like that person to hear the answer.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
As I said to the media this morning when I was asked that question, at meetings
of the leaders' forum, we might have general discussions about the
state of the economy and invariably I am asked to comment.
Ms R. Saffioti :
For $25 000.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
It was $100 000 for the Labor group!
Several members interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Questions will be asked of me—for example, how I see China, how the
economy is, or whatever; that is what the discussions are about. I will also
ask them about business conditions, how they see the property market and how
bank lending is going. Those meetings are of that nature; they are not private
meetings and they are not fundraising meetings. They have already written the
cheque.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cockburn, you are not helping this process at all. I formally call
you to order for the first time today. I am a little weary of standing on my
feet today in question time. Some of you may not have to be in here much
longer, the way you are going.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
do not see that the leaders' forum, as a group of business people who
happen to support the Liberal Party, is in any way related to the lobbyists
legislation, but the legislation will be there, and if people believe
otherwise, they can try to use that legislation to support that view. This is
an attempt by the Labor Party to try to smear decent people. I will conclude
with a contrast. It was not back in the 1980s, or even in the 1990s, but during
this century, under a Labor government led by Geoff Gallop and then Alan Carpenter,
where Messrs Burke and Grill would ring candidates as lobbyists and say to them,
''We will organise a special secret fundraiser for you, and we'll
do it as lobbyists for your individual candidates'', and some members
opposite were part of that. That was the problem; the Labor Party had special
little meetings with lobbyists to help and probably compromise members opposite
as members of Parliament. I do not do that, and to the best of my knowledge,
none of my colleagues have ever done that.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I formally call you to order for the first and second
time today. Premier, I call you to order for the third time today.
fact, it is not even a legally constituted organisation, it is just a group.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER : Only
one person asked the question and I would like that person to hear the answer.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
As I said to the media this morning when I was asked that question, at meetings
of the leaders' forum, we might have general discussions about the
state of the economy and invariably I am asked to comment.
Ms R. Saffioti :
For $25 000.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
It was $100 000 for the Labor group!
Several members interjected.
Mr C.J. BARNETT :
Questions will be asked of me—for example, how I see China, how the
economy is, or whatever; that is what the discussions are about. I will also
ask them about business conditions, how they see the property market and how
bank lending is going. Those meetings are of that nature; they are not private
meetings and they are not fundraising meetings. They have already written the
cheque.
Several members interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cockburn, you are not helping this process at all. I formally call
you to order for the first time today. I am a little weary of standing on my
feet today in question time. Some of you may not have to be in here much
longer, the way you are going.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : I
do not see that the leaders' forum, as a group of business people who
happen to support the Liberal Party, is in any way related to the lobbyists
legislation, but the legislation will be there, and if people believe
otherwise, they can try to use that legislation to support that view. This is
an attempt by the Labor Party to try to smear decent people. I will conclude
with a contrast. It was not back in the 1980s, or even in the 1990s, but during
this century, under a Labor government led by Geoff Gallop and then Alan Carpenter,
where Messrs Burke and Grill would ring candidates as lobbyists and say to them,
''We will organise a special secret fundraiser for you, and we'll
do it as lobbyists for your individual candidates'', and some members
opposite were part of that. That was the problem; the Labor Party had special
little meetings with lobbyists to help and probably compromise members opposite
as members of Parliament. I do not do that, and to the best of my knowledge,
none of my colleagues have ever done that.
Mr W.J. Johnston interjected.
The SPEAKER :
Member for Cannington, I formally call you to order for the first and second
time today. Premier, I call you to order for the third time today.
Explore WA Government Data
Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.
Explore more
Government Gazette
Appointments, regulatory notices, planning changes.
Hansard
Debates, questions, speeches and sentiment.
Tabled Papers
Reports and documents tabled in Parliament.
Committees
Committee profiles and recent reports.
Regulations
Subsidiary legislation with filters and summaries.
Bills
Proposed laws and parliamentary progress.
Acts
Current WA legislation and summaries.
Explanatory Memoranda
Bills with EMs (text/PDF) available.
Members
MP profiles, party breakdown and rankings.
Pollie Rankings
Data-driven rankings across 19 categories.
Amendment Chains
Track how schemes and regulations evolve over time.