THIS IS THE FULL TEXT OF THE EDITORIAL OF NOVEMBER 17, 2003.
WE KNOW we may be flogging a dead horse but we feel we must endorse the view of the Parliamentary Salary Review Committee that Gordon House as legislative chamber is inadequate as the nation's Parliament building. It is significant that the committee felt constrained to make the point, even though it was not a part of its terms of reference. We know that the excuse of the probable cost will be cited once again to shelve an idea that is some three decades old.
Indeed from as long ago as 1999 Cabinet approved the building of a new Parliament to be constructed at National Heroes Park as part of a phased development of that location. We suspect, however, that the proposal will be shelved once again primarily because the parliamentarians who have used the facility over the years have never really ascribed much importance to the aesthetic sense of what a Parliament should mean.
The architecture of an imposing structure would have helped to nurture that sense not only in terms of the power and prestige it represents, but also the pride of being the caretakers of the highest forum of the nation in which its laws are made, amended and preserved for the people and the future generations of this land.
That sense of being distinguished legislators has probably been usurped by what amounts to Cabinet Government assuming superiority of Ministers over the ordinary representatives of the people. And, that is why another recommendation of the Clarke committee is also important - the provision of an adequate pool of research assistants that should serve both the elected Members of Parliament and the nominated Senators to enrich the debates and other proceedings of the Legislature.
The Patterson administration came up with a winner in Emancipation Park as a magnificent adornment to the architecture and the civic sense of the capital city. The sense of commitment which gave birth to that idea is perhaps matched by the single-mindedness with which Highway 2000 and the projected developments it is meant to spawn is being pursued.
As a monumental addition to the legacy he will leave behind, we urge Mr. Patterson to apply equal zeal to the erection of a new Parliament building that the whole nation can be proud of.
