SCENE 10: THE BEAR PIT
1965
In Parliament House a debate is raging.
OPPOSITION M.P
But then the stench doesn’t bother him,
He’s so used to lying in it,
Pig that he is!
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Shame, shame, resign!
Shame, shame, resign!
GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN
How dare you.
How dare you!
Mr. Speaker,
I demand a full withdrawal
And a full apology.
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
That’s outrageous!
Outrageous!
You pathetic little squirt!
You pack of filthy mongrels!
What a pathetic display...
You pile of filth.
Filth, filth, filth!
Kick the mongrel out.
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Shame, shame, resign!
Shame, shame, resign!
SPEAKER
Order.
The house will come to order.
The honourable member for Highbury
Has the floor.
POLITICIAN
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
Under the present government
This city may not see a finished opera house
Until well into the seventies.
GOVERNMENT M.P,’S
Ah, what rubbish!
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Hear, hear!
POLITICIAN
It's astronomical price could then
Qualify it as the eighth,
And possibly the most
Precious, wonder of the world.
GOV'T WHIP
Ah, go back to the country,
You're out of your depth.
POLITICIAN
Your precious wonder is out of control.
It’s a waste of public money.
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Hear,hear!
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
Rubbish!
POLITICIAN
The people of this state
Have had enough.
They don't want to see their taxes
Wasted on silvertails.
GOVERNMENT WHIP
That’s why you’re still in opposition!
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
I would remind the honourable member
That the opera house is funded
Not by taxes
But the sale of lottery tickets.
POLITICIAN
When the public votes next month
They’ll abandon you.
That should tell you
What they want their money spent on:
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Schools! Roads! Hospitals!
POLITICIAN
They will throw you out of power!
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
Never!
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Hear, hear!
SPEAKER
Order .... Order!
POLITICIAN
They will elect a government...
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
We will be returned!
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
You will be thrown out! Thrown out! Thrown out!
POLITICIAN
...A government responsible enough
To bring the opera house under control.
GOV'T WHIP
It’s you who’s out of control!
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
The opera house should be kept above politics.
It's too important,
Too vital for our future
As a nation with an identity.
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Ah, what rubbish!
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
Hear, hear!
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
We are proud that as a government
We had the courage...
The courage and forethought
To embark upon a project
Without equal elsewhere in the world.
POLITICIAN
Without equal in the degree of incompetence
Shown in its construction
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Hear, hear!
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
Rubbish!
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
You should know better
Than to attempt to poison the image
Of this grand venture in the public mind
For the sake of a few votes.
POLITICIAN
An avalanche of votes!
In four short weeks
We’ll be in power
And when I take up
The reins of government...
GOV'T WHIP
Pigs might fly...
SPEAKER
Order!
POLITICIAN
....As I will,
Have no doubt about it,
Heaven help anyone
Hiding fiscal maladministration!
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
There’s none to hide.
You're whipping up a scandal
Where none exists!
POLITICIAN
None exists?
A cost blowout to the tune of
Twenty-five million pounds?
That's fifty million dollars in the new currency.
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Shame!
Shame!
Shame!
POLITICIAN
I say without fear of contradiction
That the present government
Forced on everybody concerned
A situation that made inevitable
The greatest organisational blunder
In the history of major building construction.
GOV'T SPOKESMAN
That's easy for you to say...
POLITICIAN
I promise the people of this state
That there’ll be changes
When we are elected,
Changes that will ensure that
Costs are controlled
And a firm target date set
For its completion.
GOVERNMENT WHIP
You don't know what you're talking about.
GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN
You philistine!
POLITICIAN
You've had it!
In four weeks
The people will have their say.
In four weeks
You'll be thrown out of office
And the new broom
Will sweep the stables clean!
OPPOSITION M.P.’S
Shame!
You’re goners,
Destined for scrap!
GOVERNMENT M.P.’S
You’re a sham!
Dishonest,
Full o’ crap!
BOTH
Gutless,
Spineless,
SCUMBAGS!
POLITICIAN
Wake up to yourselves!
Wake up!
Wake up.