Page 803 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 July 1989
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Will he advise the house whether he negotiated a donation from a director of Wollongong Constructions Pty Limited? If so, will the Deputy Chief Minister indicate where the funds were banked?
Mr Speaker, I submit that, rather than being asked to produce the statutory declaration information, Mr Whalan was given a question and other questions in an attempt to see whether there was substance in that allegation. The declaration by Miss Daly is a declaration that "I have a $100,000 investment". That could mean a number of things, Mr Speaker, none of them necessarily that $100,000 has been paid to Mr Whalan. It could mean that there has been some other investment in town. It could mean anything. It could also mean a $100,000 donation to the Labor Party.
Mr Speaker, the Rally asked a number of questions. What does the Rally do if a good citizen - a very reputable citizen, I might add - and a citizen known to us since 1974, long before the Rally was formed, is one of the principal actors in this alleged play? Mr Speaker, the real issue is the level of suspicion in society. It is not a healthy sign; it will not rest; it will not go away until there is some form of inquiry, some standing committee in the ACT to which people such as Miss Daly can go and be guaranteed protection.
One hopes, Mr Speaker, that the Rally will not be put to this any further. The Rally feels that it has again illustrated an issue. The Rally has no brief to see where that particular declaration by Miss Daly goes from here. The Rally has no particular brief, because the Rally is quite able to accept a situation where Mr Whalan can utterly refute the implication of that on behalf of the Australian Labor Party if necessary, if it were the solicitation of a donation to the party. There is nothing improper about soliciting a donation to a party.
Mr Whalan was asked to indicate his level of association with Mr Da Deppo. In effect, that was the innuendo, if he wants to hear it. The Rally intends to press on with issues of this nature, but does not intend to personalise further the illustrative method it has chosen to demonstrate the need for an independent commission against corruption. This regrettable day's debate will come to an end in a few moments when I resume my seat. It is the powerful and the weak in this community who have the biggest interest in this debate. Between those two are those who are prepared to speak out on behalf of either camp. The Rally waits to hear a full and very clear indication from the Labor Government that it is going to firstly respond clearly to its promise for open government. If we are to get a fully consultative process, some of these suspicions may not raise themselves again.
Finally, the Rally will move at an early date to assist the Assembly's Public Accounts Committee in the formation of some form of structure in this Territory to give greater
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