Page 527 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 19 May 1992
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MADAM SPEAKER: I think the Minister is answering the question appropriately.
Mr Kaine: Madam Speaker, I have asked that he withdraw the assertion that the Liberal Party is engaging in a program of misinformation. It is not true and I would like it withdrawn.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Berry did not say that the Liberal Party is engaging in a program of misinformation.
Mr Kaine: Yes, he did. The Hansard will show it.
MADAM SPEAKER: I think Mr Berry can continue to answer the question.
MR BERRY: The evidence is clear, Madam Speaker. The methadone program in the ACT is one of the most effective, with 19 per cent of clients remaining off heroin. The Tuggeranong Health Centre, it was claimed by the Liberals, was a centre for waste with a $240,000 per annum power bill.
Mr De Domenico: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: I recall that Mr Lamont asked Mr Berry a question relating to Vietnamese nurses. Can I suggest that Mr Berry answer the question he was asked.
MR BERRY: Indeed, I am just about to get to that. I am just coming to that. Of course, there is a full range of services at the Tuggeranong Health Centre and the claim was wrong. This claim about the Vietnamese nurses not only smacks of racism but again is a claim - - -
Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. There is a very clear imputation here that Mrs Carnell's question was in some way racist. That imputation is a slur on a member of the Assembly, and I ask Mr Berry to withdraw it.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Berry has rightly pointed out that Mrs Carnell used a statement in relation to nurses, which was "30 Vietnamese nurses". That can be interpreted as a racist statement in that they could have been of any nationality whatsoever, including Australians of Vietnamese origin. It is within the bounds of interpretation to say that it has a racist slur.
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, on the point of order: The question is not what Mrs Carnell said on the last occasion this was mentioned. The question is what words the Minister is using today. The Minister said today that she had made a racist slur. The word "racist", in application to Mrs Carnell today, is out of order. It is an imputation against Mrs Carnell, irrespective of what she said on the previous occasion.
MADAM SPEAKER: I understand what you are telling me, Mr Humphries. Mr Berry said that it smacks of a racist slur. He did not say directly that she had made a racist slur. There is enough of a difference. Mr Berry, please continue.
MR BERRY: I said, and I will say it again, that it smacks of racism to suggest that there is something wrong with employing 30 male Vietnamese nurses instead of graduate nurses. That is the line that was taken by the Liberals. You have to wear it because that is the line that you took.
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