Page 3093 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 17 November 1992
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Mr Berry: It was advisory, not accusatory. I would not accuse him of being a liar. It was a warning. I withdraw it.
Mr De Domenico: I ask him to withdraw, Madam Speaker.
MADAM SPEAKER: He has withdrawn, Mr De Domenico.
Mr Berry: You should not believe lies.
Mr De Domenico: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: Mr Berry continues to - - -
Mr Berry: I am not accusing him. I am sorry. I withdraw any accusation.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, the transcript contains countless instances of blatant stonewalling by this Government, particularly by this Minister, and the report is careful to document many of those cases. Ms Ellis in her dissenting report said that she believed that the Minister acted with propriety. I am sorry; but, if that is her idea of what Westminster accountability is all about, I am afraid she is totally and utterly wrong.
Madam Speaker, many times the Minister for Health made comments such as "We are considering our position", "We will decide in the fullness of time" and occasionally "We will tell you". Many questions were answered on that basis. There was a disturbing lack of ability on the part of the Minister to bring forward information to the Estimates Committee in its entirety. Madam Speaker, the most blatant - - -
Mr Kaine: One can only assume that he does not know.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, I have to respond to Mr Kaine's interjection. Yes, we have to conclude that in many cases the Minister just did not know the answers to the questions and was not prepared to take his chances by asking a member of his staff, a member of his department, sitting next to him to answer a question for him because he did not know what the answer was going to be. I will come back to that in a moment.
Madam Speaker, comments such as "We do not know; we are still considering" are overused and overworked and constitute a way of denying this important committee of the Assembly access to information. They are a cop-out. I give a good example. HIV notification is a critically important question. In fact, Madam Speaker, without exaggeration, it is a matter of life and death. This matter has been raised by the Liberals in this Assembly and outside it consistently for months. We have said time and time again, "You are misleading the public of the ACT and you are misleading the medical profession about their obligations to notify particular diseases and conditions". We have made that clear time and time again. We have been attacked time and time again by this Government and this Minister for playing politics and for misleading the people; but, in fact, it turns out that we were right. You have legal advice that we were right. In the past you have given advice to medical practitioners which is not correct.
Mr Berry: No; you are not right.
MR HUMPHRIES: Yes; that is clearly what the report shows, Madam Speaker.
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