Deputy Speaker, the ACDP will support this Bill. The arguments have been presented and I won't repeat them. I also share the concerns that have been expressed by the hon Smuts about the line Minister's function.
It gives me great pleasure to follow the chairperson of the Justice committee in also commending Dene Smuts for her rich legacy in Parliament over the past 22 years. I have had the honour of serving with the hon Smuts in Parliament since 1999 and in the last five years on the Justice committee. I was always under the impression that Dene was legally qualified, given the compelling legal arguments that she often presented. I would refer to her as the senior counsel and I was the junior counsel when I presented arguments. I remember the late nights that we spent dealing with the Protection of the State Information Bill, persuading the ANC with compelling arguments to change its views.
It is interesting, in this regard, those of you who want to read an encouraging article, to read, "A Ray of Hope from Parliament", written in the Sunday Times some time ago, where the author, Brendan Boyle, says the following:
Watching Parliament in action is often quite disappointing, so it is heartening to see a more positive episode unfolding.
He goes on to say about the committee:
The committee began to go through the Bill, clause by clause, and the ANC shut its ears. Then something changed, not all at once, but tentative steps, using the mechanism that delivered our Constitution, tackling the easiest issues first. The ANC, DA, ACDP and the IFP began to find each other, at least on some of the most obvious flaws of that Bill.
The three leading opposition delegates - Dene Smuts, Steve Swart and Mario Oriani-Ambrosini - cemented each hard-won concession without gloating over their victories and ANC members found they could give ground without the sky falling down.
Oriani-Ambrosini is so frustrated at times that he seems on the verge of tears. Smuts allows herself an occasional snort of derision when the ANC members deny the logic of an argument a six-year-old would grasp. Swart pursues the least bad option with religious patience.
What emerges from this is that it is still likely to be a bad Bill, but it may just be constitutional. Moreover, it also shows the diligence of a few good men and women who were prepared, according to their lights, to apply themselves in a way many Members of Parliament, don't know is possible - to doing the right thing. I think in this example it was MPs across political lines.
You, Dene Smuts have applied yourself in a way that many MPs don't know is possible - to doing the right thing. I want to honour you today and thank you for all your support to me as a friend in the Justice committee. The ACDP will support this Bill. I thank you. [Applause.]