Page 4915 - Week 17 - Tuesday, 11 December 1990
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... although I do not know the time that was done, I am sure it was done after Mr Berry raised the question in question time. Such that the letter was sought by my office and then sent to the Canberra Times for its own information.
Will the Minister now acknowledge that the letter was, in fact, received on 22 November, a week before his answers in the Assembly?
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, Mr Berry is suggesting that, when I said - I think on 28 November - that I had not seen the letter that he referred to in his question, I was not telling the truth. Mr Speaker, at the time I said that to Mr Berry I meant it, and I stand by that statement here in this place. However, I will indicate very clearly that what I said to Mr Berry on 29 November was not accurate in its entirety. When I said to Mr Berry that I was aware that the letter had been sent from my office to, I think, the Canberra Times, that was not the case; I was clearly in error in saying that and I regret having said that.
I might point out that I relied on an assumption made in Mr Berry's question, where Mr Berry said words to the effect: is the Minister aware that a letter has been sent from his office to the Canberra Times? In fact, no such letter had been sent from my office to the Canberra Times. No letter came from my office. There certainly was a copy of a letter, I understand, which was sent at about that time to the Canberra Times. I did not see it before it went; but it was a letter which went, I understand, from the Ministry for Health, Education and the Arts to the Canberra Times. I would suggest that, if Mr Berry considers that to be inaccurate, it would be very easy for him to produce the faxed copy showing the date and the headline showing it coming from my office; but that will not be the case because it did not happen.
I regret having said that, based on the assumption made in Mr Berry's question; but I do stand by the assertion that I was not aware of the letter from the doctors concerned before Mr Berry asked me his first question on 28 November.
MR BERRY: I have a supplementary question. Will the Minister now admit that, quite apart from misleading the Assembly, his office has been - - -
Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: the Minister did nothing of the kind and that ought to be withdrawn. He did not say that he had misled the Assembly and that should be withdrawn from the record.
MR SPEAKER: I was under the impression that the Minister had admitted that he had made an error.
Mr Kaine: That is not misleading the Assembly.
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