Page 1081 - Week 04 - Thursday, 1 April 1993
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MR STEVENSON: I am sorry; you are quite right. It did not say that it was a public meeting; it said "All welcome". When I phoned up on the afternoon after we found out that I was not welcome, I spoke to the fellow and he said that he had already told my secretary that they had had a special meeting the night before and had decided that I could not come. When Quona told me this, I thought it was a bit bizarre. I rang up and he said, "No, you cannot come". I said, "Why not?". He said, "It might be embarrassing". I said, "I will not be embarrassed". Then he said, "No, you cannot come". Nothing I said would make the slightest bit of difference. So I went anyway.
At 7.00 pm I fronted up to the Convention Centre and I saw a security guard at the top. I thought, "It has to be up the main stairs". I went straight past him, looked to the left, and saw a sign saying "Private Function". I thought, "I will bet a million bucks that it is down there", and it was. I went to the Swan Room and, as I said, there I saw Mrs Grassby signing a cheque for both her and Al for the night. I was happy to pay. She said, "What are you doing here?". I said, "I wanted to come along and they said that I couldn't". She looked me straight in the eye and said, "It must have been because all the tables were full".
Mrs Grassby: No, I did not say that. That is a lie, Dennis.
MR STEVENSON: You said, "They must have been full".
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Could we have some order, please?
MR STEVENSON: If you deny that, you must have been full at the time.
Mr De Domenico: I take a point of order, Madam Speaker. I expressly heard Mrs Grassby say, "That is a lie, Dennis". I ask Mrs Grassby to withdraw that statement.
MADAM SPEAKER: Could we have a bit of order, please? Mrs Grassby, would you withdraw that, please?
Mrs Grassby: Yes, I will withdraw that; but it is not what I said.
MADAM SPEAKER: I understand that, Mrs Grassby.
Mr Moore: I take a point of order. Madam Speaker, I draw your attention to the relevance of this issue to the censure motion. It is a censure motion that we are debating, rather than whether - - -
Mr Stevenson: On a point of order, Madam Speaker: We are in the middle of a point of order.
Mr Moore: No, she has resolved that point of order.
Mr Stevenson: No, we have not.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mrs Grassby withdrew her comment, Mr Stevenson. Mr Moore, thank you for that point of order. I was going to ask Mr Stevenson to direct his remarks to the question in hand and therefore not entertain any further interjections from Mrs Grassby by not inducing them. Would you please come back to the debate?
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