Mr. Chairman, there is always a dilemma when you are faced with a motion like this because everyone recognizes this is a major problem for us and it seems to be problem that gets bigger and bigger all the time. When I decided to run again in this last election, I put together a pamphlet which had the things in it which I thought were important and that we should get on with. One of the items I put in there was a complete review of our social system, an examination of social issues. Once you get elected on a basis of a platform of what you believe in, you cannot just conveniently throw it aside and say, "Well that got me elected, it does not matter now." That is not the way you can behave in public life. So although I recognize that we do have financial problems and although we do have a new cabinet and a new government, I have to keep my word, that if you say that is what you are going to do, then you have to proceed with it.
However, what I would like to also recall to Members is that when we were in this chamber discussing who should be in the cabinet and so on, I did make the comment that recognizing that we had a very serious financial climate in which we were operating. Since we had three major studies, if you like, one on education, one on housing and one on the economy, then perhaps if we do something on social issues we could perhaps deal with it in a different way to what we have done in the past. Not simply to say it is less than an important issue but we should do something about it and should examine it and maybe we can do it in a way that is different to what we have done before and perhaps also, Mr. Chairman, we can do it, you know, on a different scale. In other words, you have got to be able to do the work that you are charged with, within your means and perhaps we can look at just a new way of looking at social issues, and the terms of reference, in fact, provides us with a tremendous amount of flexibility as to how we go about it.
But I certainly do not believe in supporting this motion than committing myself to a road show, where we go to every single place and we really, really put on a cadillac performance. I think that we can do a very good job on the basis of knowledge that we got and try to get a think tank, if you like, together to see if we cannot come up with something that gives us some direction.
I am also encouraged by the fact that one of the things that did come out of the last committee that we put together, which was the one on the economy, is very much reflected in the Beatty report. I was impressed by the fact that many of the things that we looked at in giving people more control over the things that mattered to them, in looking at structural problems, looking at things like dependency, just taking a different vision, if you like as to how we should advance our economy, that we should not be just simply going over the same round you know, with the same kind of tools.
So this may give us an opportunity to examine social and health issues but just maybe do it in a different way to what we have done before. But I am committed to deal with it and I support the motion, when that motion in fact is in front of us to vote on it. I am not sure what that procedure will be. Thank you.
Good Government Is Not Always Cheap