Page 878 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 March 1991
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Mr Speaker, having such a statutory declaration in my hands, I believe that I had a responsibility to the people of Canberra to pursue the matter further. I had far stronger evidence than that provided by Mr Collaery on Paul Whalan. However, because this matter had to do with broken promises rather than with taking bribes, I chose to deal with it in a minimal way. I was prepared to take the allegation to the Chief Minister, as he invited yesterday, until this Minister who I had not named overreacted to the question and moved this motion to which I now respond.
Mr Collaery has brought the results of his reaction on his own head. It was not my intention to name him, but he has demonstrated his own guilt by his response. One cannot help but ask why there was such a mild reaction from Mr Humphries and Mr Kaine and such a reaction from the Attorney-General. Perhaps we need to go back to referring to him as "Corruption" Collaery, but for different reasons.
Dr Kinloch: Mr Speaker, I ask that Mr Moore withdraw that comment.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Moore! I ask you to withdraw that. I ask you to withdraw "'Corruption' Collaery".
MR MOORE: I withdraw. No doubt, Mr Speaker, the Attorney-General will now jump to his feet to deny the allegations. What choice does he have?
Mr Kaine: Mr Speaker, I require that Mr Moore table the statutory declaration from which he has been quoting.
MR SPEAKER: That has to be moved under standing order 213.
Mr Moore: I need to respond to that, Mr Speaker.
Motion (by Mr Kaine) proposed:
That the document quoted from by Mr Moore be tabled under standing order 213.
MR MOORE (3.51): Mr Speaker, the reason I went through the speech in the way that I did and drew attention to the damage done to Miss Daly was that I presumed that at the end of the speech standing order 213 would be used to bring this about. For that reason, Mr Speaker, I chose to take the following action: I took a copy of that statutory declaration to Mr Connolly and I covered the name of the constituent at the top, where he had signed it, with my thumbs and allowed Mr Connolly to read it. Then, because I intend to protect my sources, as I will always protect my sources, I shredded that statutory declaration. It is now shredded. By the way, Mr Speaker, I shredded that statutory declaration in front of Mr Connolly.
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