Danny to reveal Robin’s sins

LEGAL AFFAIRS Minister Danny Montano yesterday promised to reveal instances where his brother, UNC Senator Robin Montano, personally transgressed against him in the Senate and told the Opposition UNC that if Parliament was the High Court, they would have been jailed for their disrespectful behaviour. Speaking during debate in the Senate on a motion for live parliamentary debates, the Minister said UNC Senator Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan made the “unfortunate error” of saying that his brother never interrupted him or challenged him while he (Danny) was speaking in the Senate. “Madam President I give the undertaking today. Next week I will, with at least two instances of where that occurred. That is his right. He (Robin) is not there for decoration. He is there to do his job. To represent the interests of his party and if he wishes to do that, that is his job and I will not interfere with his constitutional right to do that,” Montano declared to vigorous desk-thumping from the Government benches.

He took Seepersad-Bachan further to task for saying it was sometimes necessary to be controversial in order to get their point across and the UNC was frustrated in dealing with the Government. Montano said the PNM never once crossed the line despite being “frustrated by the machinations” of the former regime during its six years in power. “We fought our fight within the boundaries of the Standing Orders, within the boundaries of the Constitution and we eventually succeeded. That is what the Constitution and the Standing Orders demand of all of us. I cannot accept that because one is frustrated that one can breach the Standing Orders. This Chamber is the highest court in the land. Some of the behaviour we have seen in this place if it took place in the High Court, members would be jailed ad hoc.That behaviour should not be tolerated. It does not belong in the Parliament. You don’t have to behave like petulant schoolboys and schoolgirls,” he declared. The Minister advised that the UNC must “bear the brunt of its mistakes” which put it out of office, and learn to treat the media with dignity and respect. On UNC claims of unfair reporting by the media, Montano said unfair reporting occurs in all spheres of public life, even in the minutes of Boardroom meetings.

“Welcome to public life,” he stated with a shrug of his shoulders. The Minister also dismissed a suggestion by Seepersad-Bachan that post-Cabinet news conferences be abolished and Ministers only make statements in Parliament. Montano said Cabinet decisions “have no place in Parliament unless there is a financial consequence.” He added that only then is Cabinet accountable and used the former regime’s decision to build a new airport terminal as an example. The Minister said parliamentarians’ behaviour might improve if the debates were live and suggested that a public broadcasting station carry out that function. Public Administration and Information Minister Dr Lenny Saith said Channel Four and 94.1 FM would perform that role but Independent Senator Mary King questioned the effectiveness of State reporting. She suggested that a Joint Select Committee be established to study the matter and report its findings by June. King rejected comments from certain sections of the society that the Independent Senators were either “mutes” or “a waste of public funds.