Page 1319 - Week 05 - Thursday, 25 June 1992
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MR CONNOLLY: I can accept Mr Humphries putting on his air of moral indignation over this; but I find Mr Moore's act of moral indignation, as he joined in eagerly with this little Liberal stunt, really a bit hard to stomach. Mr Moore then thought it was a great stunt; he thought it was terribly clever. I was partly involved, in that Mr Moore asked me to sight the document.
Mr Humphries: Oh, you were part of the stunt, were you?
MR CONNOLLY: No. I am saying that there were allegations made that Mr Moore had never had such a document and I in fact defended Mr Moore. I said, yes, he did have a document. I saw a document. I did not see all the details of it, but there was such a document. He indicated that he had shredded it. I find his attack, with this nonsense about Fitzgerald and corruption and high standards, really hard to stomach, given the gimmick that he was involved in.
As for the substance of this motion, for heaven's sake, there is confusion over what the document is. Mr Lamont is now saying that he is making inquiries to find the document. This is an absurd issue to be dealing with by way of a motion of censure. If this is the best that you lot can come up with at the end of the first session of this Legislative Assembly, the end of this first six-month period, it means that we on this side of the house are going to be here for years and years to come.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (4.23): This issue arose first of all today when leave was sought by Mr De Domenico to do something, but obviously at that time it was not felt to be of sufficient gravity to move a censure motion.
Mr Humphries: You forced it to that stage.
MR BERRY: Mr Humphries responds by saying, "You forced it to that stage", which confirms my earlier comments. So it was not of sufficient gravity to move a censure motion; but, given that there was no option to have an immediate debate, the Liberals decided that they would go for a censure motion rather than do nothing at all. So the Liberals themselves do not believe - - -
Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think Mr Berry is reflecting on a vote of the Assembly earlier this afternoon. He is talking of and reflecting on a vote of the Assembly that was passed earlier this afternoon. I suggest that that is not in accordance with standing orders.
MR BERRY: I am not reflecting on the vote. The vote was perfectly okay.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Berry has withdrawn any reflection on a vote. Please continue, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: The vote was perfectly okay. I am not reflecting on the vote. It was fine; a good result. It was a worthy one, and that is a proper reflection. So the Liberals themselves believed that this was a trivial matter and not sufficiently serious to warrant a censure motion, yet they proceeded with it.
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