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Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Truth in Advertising) Bill 2007
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
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Mr MIKE BAIRD (Manly) [11.27 a.m.]: It is very interesting that during this debate we are hearing the words that truth is inconvenient. It is an incredible way to start a debate. I commend the member for Ballina for introducing the Parliamentary Electorates and Elections Amendment (Truth in Advertising) Bill. He knows what the people of this State want. Over the past 20 years we have seen the primary vote for the major parties in this House fall from 96 per cent to 77 per cent because the community has started to lose faith in this institution and in both major parties, so it is incredible that we are debating the need for truth in advertising.
How can any member of this House have a problem with advertising in an election campaign being subject to rigour and truth, that is, having an independent arbiter ascertain the truthfulness or otherwise of the material? The member for Ballina should be commended for bringing integrity back into the process. The bill proposes that the legislation be changed to prohibit inaccurate and misleading political advertising. False or misleading advertising is unacceptable in business and no debate is necessary; advertising must be factual. The same should apply to politics.
In my maiden speech I spoke about the need for this House to move towards a place of integrity, and that is the guts of it. Roy Morgan's image of professions survey this year found that only 16 per cent of people over the age of 14 believe that members of Parliament have high standards of ethics and honesty. That is disheartening for me, having recently joined the profession, and for all of us in this place. It is a condemnation of all of us. As we engage in this debate on truth, we should all hang our heads in shame if we do not uphold and reclaim truth. Soon after this year's State election a Labor member was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald as saying the New South Wales Government's strategy was, quite simply, to "bombard the other guy and distract everyone from your own abysmal record".
The people of New South Wales deserve so much better than that. We should not be in a position where we are patting ourselves on the back for a political strategy that has engineered success. We should be patting ourselves on the back for standing up for what is right, for standing up for truth and, more importantly, for standing up for the communities we seek to represent.
Pursuant to standing orders business interrupted and set down as an order of the day for a future day.
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