Page 541 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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MRS CARNELL: By ignoring the very rules he put into the Betting Act to make ACTTAB more accountable, the Minister not only has withheld information from the Assembly but has broken the law as well. This is the same man who told us almost 12 months ago that this provision would ensure that every ministerial direction would be open to public scrutiny by the Assembly. So much for accountability on the Minister's part.
Mr Berry has systematically and wilfully misled this Assembly over several months. In his own words, this VITAB deal was one that he was personally involved in.
Mr Humphries: And proud of.
MRS CARNELL: And proud of, yes. It was Mr Berry who wrote to ACTTAB and gave his approval for the signing of the agreement with VITAB. He cannot blame the Victorian TAB, ACTTAB's board or its executives, the Office of Sport and Recreation, his staff, or even VITAB for concealing and misrepresenting vital information from this Assembly and the people of Canberra. Wayne Berry must take responsibility for his own actions.
Madam Speaker, the facts speak for themselves. If we are to uphold even minimum standards of ministerial accountability in this Assembly, it is beyond doubt that Mr Berry has not met them. The inquiry by Professor Pearce will determine other issues relating to this whole sorry affair, but it will not examine whether this Minister misled the Assembly. Minister, you got taken for a ride, and then you tried to take the members of this Assembly for a ride. You have, beyond a shadow of a doubt, concealed information from this Assembly and misled its members. A member who misleads this chamber deliberately or recklessly, as you have done, is not fit to be a Minister. For this reason alone, today should be your last as a Minister.
MR DE DOMENICO (3.08): Madam Speaker, if the Liberal Party had not proceeded with this motion of no confidence today, we would have abrogated our responsibility as elected members of this Assembly. Mr Moore's comments, as reported in last Saturday's Canberra Times, are correct. If any member of this Assembly believes that he or she has a strong case that a Minister has misled the Assembly but, more importantly, has misled the people of the ACT, that member would not be performing his or her duty if no action at all was taken. Misleading this Assembly and the people of the ACT is a separate issue, as Mrs Carnell has said, from the terms of reference of Professor Pearce's inquiry. It is an issue that involves government and ministerial accountability and, if left alone, this Assembly would be washing its hands of its raison d'etre. The Liberal Party and, thankfully, the Independents will not do a Pontius Pilate.
From the very first time the Deputy Chief Minister made any public statement on ACTTAB's contractual arrangements with VITAB, he misled the people of the ACT. At 11.00 am on Monday, 8 November 1993, when Mr Berry delivered his speech on the VITAB deal, he said:
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