--Thursday, 16 February 2006--

Opposition move has desired effect

When two Opposition members decided to boycott Tuesday's Legislative Council meeting, it proved to be very effective in one respect -- it garnered a lot of attention. Certainly the actions will be heavily covered in the media. And this was the point, as the fact that the meeting may be boycotted was touted in a press conference the day before.

The boycott was prompted by the speaker's decision to not allow questions on the agenda so as not to interfere with the budget debate. While we see this as a legitimate concern, we wonder if such a reaction was justified. Especially in light of the fact that the remaining Opposition members decided not to critique the spending plan.

Certainly, while the issues that Opposition members wanted to discuss, phone rates and the civil servant salary structure, are important. But so is the territory's budget for the upcoming year. To walk out in protest is, of course, any member's prerogative. By disengaging themselves from the debate, however, the two members who refused to participate in the meeting did a disservice to their constituents.

The needs of the communities that they represent should have been important enough for those members to remain for the debate. After all, these representatives were elected to represent their constituents at Legislative Council. It is difficult to do that when one is voluntarily absent from the meeting, especially at such a critical time.

Yet, we also recognise the importance of the two issues that the legislators wished to have discussed. Certainly, the ruling government needs to be queried about decisions that it has made recently with regard to both these issues.

And we sympathise with the frustration felt by the Opposition in not being able to do so at the time they chose to. Regardless, though, the ultimate outcome is that the budget debate was overshadowed by the Opposition's dissent, which is the real problem.

The proposed spending plan will shape the territory's future for years to come. It includes many ambitious proposals and major projects, yet there seems to be little attention being paid to it. And that is something that all legislators should be concerned about.

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