Page 3929 - Week 13 - Thursday, 17 October 1991
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MR SPEAKER: Thank you for your observation; but that has not been reported to the Assembly, on my understanding, as a committee report. Therefore, again, Ms Maher, I would ask you to seek leave if you want to bring that information into the Assembly.
MS MAHER: Can I seek - - -
MR SPEAKER: Not during question time. Please proceed, but do not bring that information into the Assembly.
MS MAHER: Mr Connolly, during your answers to questions during the Estimates Committee hearing, did you say that there will be no reduction in the licensing related functions in the children's day care services area?
MR CONNOLLY: I obviously did not have that transcript in front of me. I have just had it given to me.
Mr Collaery: You cannot refer to it.
MR CONNOLLY: But I cannot refer to it. So, I really cannot give any sensible answer to the question: "Did you say this?". It depends what "this" is. I suspect that Ms Maher has selectively quoted the "this", and that, when the "this" is read in the context of other "this-es", the issue will make sense.
Mr Jensen: Ooh, sprung.
MR CONNOLLY: I rather like Mr Jensen's rather pathetic, learner plate interjections. When this issue is open for questioning, I would be happy to take Ms Maher's question on the detail. We are in something of a cleft stick here in that she cannot refer to what I am alleged to have said and I cannot refer to what I am alleged to have said or what I additionally said.
There was no assurance, as I read the statements and the context, of any individual job cuts. The overall position remained that we did not know where the cuts were. I notice that there was a context of "could we provide more services; did we need more staff?", and I was clearly giving assurances that more efficiencies were being sought and that we did not need more staff.
Mr Jensen: You hang yourself, Terry.
Ms Maher: You are just getting worse, Terry. You are getting in deeper.
MR CONNOLLY: The chooks are cackling over there. In respect of the words that I cannot refer to - "No, no" - I must say that that is usually the "No, no" that I say when I am trying to cut a silly question out. Although I cannot refer to it here, as it has been authorised for publication the media can read it and the media will understand that there are no contradictions or "shock, horror!" here.
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