Secondly, if we consider the past year, I think we had highs and lows. We had times when we were unanimous in passing certain specific pieces of legislation and in dealing with matters before us in the different committees, and on occasion we also crossed swords, in more than one way.
Of particular importance, I believe, was the fact that on critical matters we moved closer to opposition co-operation on matters of principle. On that basis I think we should say that there has been a victory for democracy that we have seen over the past year. This has been in three important respects.
One was on the secrecy Bill, the Protection of State Information Bill. Secondly, I believe that it was a wise decision of the hon Acting Deputy Chief Whip to withdraw the e-toll Bill, the Transport Laws and Related Matters Amendment Bill, today. Thirdly, irrespective of whether or not the court ruled today on when the motion of no confidence should take place, the fact is that the important matter that was before the court was the right of the opposition to bring a motion of no confidence, and the fact that it should be debated as a matter of urgency. I think that was important.
Then, Speaker, we must never take ourselves too seriously. This is especially true of politicians. So let us also laugh a little at what happened during the past year. [Interjections.]
First of all, we had a very amusing incident, and the hon Speaker ruled on it. The hon DA shadow minister of defence, who is also regarded by some as a prophet of doom, exceeded the built-in tolerance levels of our former hon Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. She then exploded in a way that only she can, spouted a mixture of venom and red-hot chilli, and advised the hon shadow minister from the DA to run for cover! In fact she also advised him that he should take his Doom - this time a spray can of Doom - and get rid of the rather irritating fleas upon his body! It was good that there was a ruling by the hon Speaker, but we must also understand that we need freedom of debate.
What was also significant was the fact that the hon Fransman became a very serious specialist on farm workers in the Boland! From the opposition side I think it's necessary for us to make a remark, and we did, in fact, make such a remark to him yesterday. We said that perhaps the President should send him on a special mission to Georgia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, and elsewhere where South African farmers have got involved in the agricultural sector. Maybe he can also give some good advice on farm worker conditions in those areas, since he is the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Co-operation.
Lastly, we would like to come to the hon Chief Whip of the Majority Party. Fortunately, some of us have known him over many, many years, dating back to the Gauteng legislature. We actually love him, despite the serious concerns that we have to express on occasion about his interpretation of the Rules.
However, we felt that we would forgive him for that, especially if we had the expertise of the hon J J here. [Interjections.] It's just a pity that he's not also acting as a lecturer, as we were considering some form of fundraising effort in order to see if we couldn't send him on some or other course where he could be taught the difference between a constitutional democracy and a parliamentary democracy, and especially the details of the National Assembly Rules, because sometimes his points of order have really taken us by surprise. [Interjections.] That, of course, was just in lighter vein.
Then, I would just like to say to members that perhaps we should look at quotes used by Sir Winston Churchill. Some of them may not be parliamentary, but they contain elements of undeniable truth.
One is this. "Do not argue with an idiot: he will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience." [Laughter.]
He also said this. "Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak." [Laughter.]
Something else that he said was this. "If I agreed with you we'd both be wrong."
Perhaps we should sometimes also take the middle road and not always be too rigid in our approaches, because the best legislation and the best reports are written when compromises are made. I think we should perhaps desist from just sticking to very serious positions, and talk to one another more definitely and more seriously. I say this because in war and in politics the same applies. War does not determine who is right; it actually determines who is left. In politics we must remember, if you live by the sword, you will die by the sword, also as far as that is concerned. [Interjections.]
In conclusion, on behalf of Cope, I want to wish everybody a blessed and surely deserved rest period going forward. We want to say to you: "Travel home safely," and for those of you who believe that the opposition in Parliament are great, we want to say: Travel safely and, particularly, come back safely!" To the others we say: Travel safely to Mangaung, but who are we to tell you how to travel back?" [Interjections.] So, going forward ...