Page 760 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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MR BERRY: I did not make that accusation. I was referring to this paper here; I am sorry. The paper is "Budget Difficulties in the Health Portfolio", which has been set out - - -
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: The word "distortions" is fine, Mr Berry, but "lies" is certainly out.
Mr Moore: He is talking about the paper that he has in front of him. We do not even know who produced it.
Mr Berry: It is not signed by anybody.
Mr Kaine: He talked about "lies and distortions", and I would like him to withdraw that.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, I know what you are referring to. I will take advice on it.
Mr Berry: I have a paper which has been circulated outside this place, and I say that there are lies and distortions in it.
Mr Kaine: Mr Deputy Speaker, I require that to be withdrawn.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: I will take advice on that. Mr Berry, I rule against you. You will have to withdraw that.
Mr Berry: I am not referring to anybody in this place.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, I know that you are not, but you are "not allowed to use unparliamentary words by the device of putting them in somebody else's mouth, or in the course of a quotation". Would you withdraw the words?
MR BERRY: These deliberate distortions which I will sheet home to Mr Humphries now, Mr Deputy Speaker, are very clear, because, in the document that was given to Mr Humphries, not only was it clear that the information that has been provided by Mr Humphries in public is wrong, but it is wrong by many millions of dollars. This talks about a blow-out of $10m. This is the public position of Mr Humphries. The actual position put to him by Treasury is $2.2m. This Minister's credibility is down the gurgler. We all know that, and we know it for a number of reasons.
Mr Deputy Speaker, on the 19th of last month, a question was raised in this place and put to Mr Humphries, inviting comment on the issue of the hospital budget blow-out. We asked: Was there a budget blow-out? Mr Humphries declared that he did not know about that, and he felt sure that people would tell him, if they knew. Two days later, becoming a little bit agitated about the continuing reports of serious problems in the hospital system, we asked a similar question of the Chief Minister. He did not know either, and felt sure that Treasury would tell him if anything was wrong.
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