Page 1264 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 23 August 1989
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MR JENSEN: I feel I must read my question again for the benefit of those who seem to have got the impression that the implication in the letter that Mr Read passed to me, and thereby my question, was directed specifically at the Deputy Chief Minister. My question was:
Is [the Chief Minister] aware that an attempt by the Tuggeranong Community Council to obtain a briefing from the Interim Territory Planning Authority on the Eastern Parkway, prior to a council representative appearing before the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the ACT, failed following involvement by the Deputy Chief Minister's office?
I repeat the words "by the Deputy Chief Minister's office". Nowhere did I say "by the Deputy Chief Minister". I would also refer to the letter that I provided to the Chief Minister last night. Mr Whalan quoted from the first paragraph of it but failed to quote from the second. Once again, I read what Mr Read has said:
He told me the meeting was going to be cleared by Paul Whalan's office and that they wanted to deal with me direct. Nothing eventuated.
Nowhere in any of those statements is there any suggestion that the Deputy Chief Minister was personally involved in this particular matter. Nowhere was that raised. I think it is important that that be put clearly and simply before this house before members vote.
On that basis, I do not believe it is necessary for me to make any further comments. I would have expected, on the basis of the answer provided by the Deputy Chief Minister, on reading the letter by Mr Read that I passed to the Deputy Chief Minister, and on re-reading the question that I asked in the house, that it was quite clear that there was no implication that the Deputy Chief Minister was personally involved.
It was interesting to see why he felt it necessary to rise to his feet and attack me and, by implication, the Tuggeranong Community Council so personally. That is why I felt it was necessary to raise this particular matter. I have no problem with the amendments that have been moved today to this motion.
Mr Speaker, I regret having had to take this action today, but I felt it was important that I do so because of the failure by the Deputy Chief Minister, when he was given an opportunity, to take the aggravation and the angst out of this particular matter to ensure that we could get on with the business. It is unfortunate that, because of this matter, time will now probably be restricted in other areas that are just as important. I commend the motion, as amended, to the members of this Assembly.
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