Page 548 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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If Mr Berry has briefed the Chief Minister in the same way he has briefed this Assembly and this community, he has misled her as well. One wonders why the Chief Minister did not double-check what Mr Berry had told her. I am sure she will from now on. Mr Berry, again on the Matthew Abraham program, even misled himself. After telling this Assembly, and convincing others in this Assembly, in May 1993 that a decorporatised ACTTAB would give the government of the day more control, Mr Berry said on the Matthew Abraham show:
ACTTAB is a statutory authority and is responsible for its own actions ...
Under an Act presented in this place, before they can do anything about signing this contract they need a signed direction from this Minister. This is about the time Mr Berry starts to back away. On 19 March on radio SSS-FM - $200,000 from ACTTAB goes to help fund this radio station - Mr Berry tells punters that ACTTAB competed with other TABs. I quote from the transcript:
... we were competitors in a race to get this contract.
The last statement was made only this morning, on the Matthew Abraham show. It is here somewhere; I have so many papers here, it does not matter.
Mr Berry: The truth does not matter. Just make it up, Tony.
MR DE DOMENICO: No, it is not made up, Mr Berry. Madam Speaker, as you know, the Opposition has quoted only Mr Wayne Berry. The only quotes we have given in this debate are quotes from Mr Wayne Berry. What did Mr Berry say on the Matthew Abraham show this morning? This is what he said:
They then went on to attack the principals of VITAB, and, of course, they have come up clean.
Mr Berry, how clean is it when Mr Bartholomew, who you said negotiated on behalf of VITAB, has been convicted twice? How can you say that they have come up clean, Mr Berry, when Cornelius McMahon, who signed the contract on behalf of VITAB, was charged with SP bookmaking in 1988? Mr Berry, they did not come up clean.
Mr Berry: Was he convicted?
MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Bartholomew was convicted twice, Mr Berry. Madam Speaker, ever since Mr Berry first opened his mouth about VITAB on 8 November 1993, there has been a litany of misleading statements. There have been attempts to deny access to documents; false accusations upon false accusations; blaming the world for his own incompetence; failing to provide answers to questions; and, worst of all, concealing information from everyone. This Minister's actions make Ros Kelly look like an administrative genius. On any test, he has misled this house, misled his own colleagues, and misled the people of the ACT.
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