The Entrance of Chris Spence

One of the almost inevitable features of a Parliamentary sitting day is that a motion to be accorded priority will be afforded the Government based on their ability to use their majority in the House. The motion is the first item following Question Time and regardless of the merit of the motion proposed by the Government or the Opposition, the Government will invariably force their motion to be the one accorded priority.

It is therefore disappointing that these motions are almost always either a motion of self-congratulation or an attack on the Opposition. This has been a long-standing process and is unlikely to change. It is often very difficult for an Independent to take aside on what is clearly a party political stoush.

Last week and again today the Government has chosen to use the priority motion to attack the Liberal endorsed candidate for The Entrance, Chris Spence. Chris Spence was a high-ranking member of One Nation, serving with Pauline Hanson and David Oldfield some 10 years ago.

As a political target for the NSW ALP he certainly would appear to make a good one. The nature of the policies that he would have supported at that stage would be repugnant to most people, policies that I personally find to have been completely unacceptable.

That said I do not know the person and I have no idea whether he has changed his views since then. I do know that there are examples of people from all walks of life that have made major changes to their lives and thinking as they grow and mature. Atheists have found God, religious have lost their faith, conservatives have joined the left, socialists have been drawn to the right, and bigots and racists have changed their views and sought to atone for their previous actions – while not common, it is not rare.

I voted against the Government’s motion calling for amongst other things for the Liberal Party to disendorse Mr Spence. I believe that apart from whatever Mr Spence’s views might be today, the decision is for the Liberal Party and if they have got it wrong the electorate will deal with their candidate appropriately. In a sense, if Mr Spence is as objectionable as the Government suggests then his candidacy should be to their benefit, as I do not believe that the people of The Entrance would wish to be represented by someone espousing right wing and extreme views.

I should mention that while I voted against this Government motion I also voted against the Opposition amendment, which was couched in similar partisan terms against the Government. Those who enjoy the cut and thrust of debate within the “bear pit” may enjoy this style of debate. I believe that it does a disservice to the standing of the Parliament in the eyes of the public and only serves to reinforce negative views of politicians within NSW. If nothing else this debate consumed a lot of Parliamentary time; and an almost identical motion was moved and debated just last week!