Page 877 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 March 1991
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MR MOORE: I am getting there. You have only one choice, and that is to start unloading Ministers. I do not believe that you will do it, because if you were going to do it you would have done it with Duby. I doubt, whatever information I come up with, that you would ever do it. You would never do it, because if you were to fire them, if you asked them to resign, you would wind up losing your position as Chief Minister, and you are not prepared to do that, not to maintain any standard.
Anyone who has dealt closely with Mr Collaery will know that he has the problem of believing his own stories. He reaches a stage where he cannot distinguish what is from that which is not. He has a problem with the truth because he believes his own lies.
Mr Speaker, I do not deal in allegations lightly. However, I do believe that when I have strong evidence it is appropriate for me to pursue such matters in the house. In fact I believe I have a responsibility to pursue such matters in the house. I have been presented with a statutory declaration from a constituent which alleged, inter alia, the following:
In April 1990 the Chief Law Officer conveyed to senior officers in his department that he, the Chief Law Officer, ought not be advised by him, the Minister, of private discussions he was having with casino developers.
I should point out, Mr Speaker, that the response of the Chief Law Officer in this morning's paper may well refer to the time period that I was referring to in yesterday's question on other examples. The statutory declaration continued:
Furthermore Mr Collaery used opportunities such as days at the races (eg Canberra Cup and Black Opal meetings) to discuss casino operations and developments with prospective developers. One such meeting which I observed -
that is not me personally; I am quoting from the constituent's statutory declaration -
took place in a private function area at the race track and I was advised by several participants that the casino was on the agenda. Meetings with lobbyists and principals of casino development companies have continued throughout 1990, the latest being during the week commencing 24 February 1991.
Mr Speaker, when I am given a statutory declaration of that calibre I have no choice but to ask questions. What I did was ask questions in the house yesterday, and those questions could have been resolved without the situation coming to this.
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