Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Again, these are all very good matters to put to the ACT parliament, who have the responsibility for passing this legislation. We know that the federal coalition has a long history of trampling over territory rights. They've done it for the Northern Territory. They've done it to the ACT in relation to euthanasia laws. Now, they're doing it in relation to drug criminalisation laws. It would appear, as I say, that they don't even have support from the ACT Liberal Party when they decide to stomp into this chamber to trample on territory rights. There are other occasions when the federal Liberals have stood up for territory rights. In fact, one of them is sitting right there—Senator Birmingham. It was always anachronistic for the Commonwealth to have decided that the one limitation on the territories compared to the states would be on the questions of voluntary euthanasia or voluntary assisted dying. So there was a time when Senator Birmingham stood up for territory rights, but we know that Senator Birmingham stopped standing up for anything quite a long time ago.