Page 239 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 May 1992
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MR KAINE: Madam Speaker, I referred to the Government sending out their storm-trooper. If you do not like that, refute it. You sent Mr Townsend out there to intimidate the private sector - - -
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Kaine, Ms Follett has the floor.
Ms Follett: Madam Speaker, I must insist that that point of order be upheld. Mr Kaine has made an extremely derogatory remark about a public servant, and I will not stand for it. I require him to withdraw every imputation.
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, there is, with respect, nothing in standing orders about casting imputations on people outside this Assembly with very limited circumstances - - -
MR KAINE: Madam Speaker, I withdraw that. Mr Townsend happens to be a friend of mine and I am sure that he will not be the slightest bit offended by it. Only the Chief Minister is, because she knows what I am saying. They will not go out there themselves, Madam Speaker. They send their public servants to threaten the land developers and to tell them that if they do not play ball they will not have any business by the end of the year.
Mr Berry: Madam Speaker, I take a point of order. We can see that Mr Kaine has taken a bit of advice from his consultants, but it is a bit like being mauled by a dead sheep. At the same time we have to ensure that our public servants are left alone in the course of this debate. To attack public servants in the way that they have been attacked by Mr Kaine is outrageous. There is no point in it, no point in it at all. They cannot defend themselves.
Mr Humphries: What is the point of order?
Mr Berry: We would like you to withdraw the word "threaten".
Mr De Domenico: Madam Speaker, I take a point of order. Madam Speaker, as a new member of this Assembly - I am sure that some of my colleagues might be enlightened by the way you might have this question answered - I ask: Can we get an indication as to what words happen to be unparliamentary? Is "threaten" unparliamentary? I doubt whether it is.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr De Domenico, I did rule earlier on "hypocrisy" and did talk about tone, context and relevance of the particular use of that word. I do believe that in this context Mr Berry and Ms Follett have both made a point which Mr Kaine did take up and which initially he withdrew. I assume that his withdrawal holds now for all other subsequent uses of "threats".
MR KAINE: I am merely saying, Madam Speaker - I do not know why we have to have a 10-minute debate in the middle of my speech, except for wanting to stop me from saying what I want to say - that the evidence is there that some land developers were threatened that if they did not play the game they would not have a business by the end of the year. I think that is a fair comment.
Mr Wood: Come off it. By whom?
MR KAINE: We know by whom. May I continue, Madam Speaker?
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Kaine has the floor.
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