Page 614 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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Mr Connolly mentioned that this was a very serious matter, and every member of this chamber would agree with that. He also referred at length to parliamentary practice and the way no-confidence motions have been debated in other places, particularly while inquiries have been in progress. Mr Kaine raised many of the issues I have raised in this debate, and particularly the very important question of the Chief Minister's consideration of the position of the Minister for Sport while the inquiry process is going on. If the inquiry process is looking extensively at the competency of the Minister, obviously the Minister would have been best placed to stand aside for the duration of the inquiry. I noted when Mr Kaine referred to the terms of reference for the inquiry that point (c) refers to the involvement of the Minister for Sport being inquired into and reported on in relation to the agreement between ACTTAB and VITAB. That is a very different matter from the Assembly considering a question as to whether the Minister has misled this place or not.
We then heard from the Minister, and I have touched on some of the remarks he made. He explained at length and addressed many of the issues the Opposition have raised in this place today. I personally feel that the Minister has addressed most of those matters. I believe that, fundamentally, most of those issues are best addressed through the inquiry process, but I would like to indicate to this Assembly that I am not satisfied that the Minister did everything he could to inform the Assembly exactly what the situation was with the ACTTAB-VicTAB contract at an early enough stage. I am sure that the Minister will address those concerns later in this debate.
Mr Cornwell, before the dinner break, indicated that the inquiry process will not assess whether the Minister has misled the Assembly, and he is quite right in that view. He referred extensively to Hansard debates, the questions that have been asked in this Assembly and the answers that have been given. I found it rather difficult reading through some of the questions that were asked and the answers that were given, because of the numerous interjections that occurred. There was one answer in particular - it might have been to Mr Westende's question or it might have been to Mr Cornwell's - when there were four different interjections from members of the Opposition while the Minister was in the process of answering. It is difficult for a Minister who has been asked a question, when there are interjections from the Opposition all the time, to focus his remarks on the intent of the original question and also on the interjections, if he chooses. At times it was difficult for the Minister to address adequately the questions that had arisen.
In summary, Madam Speaker, we have an extremely important motion before this Assembly today: That this Assembly lacks confidence in Minister Berry by reason of his deliberate or reckless misleading of the Assembly concerning matters relating to ACTTAB's contract with VITAB. I would like to hear further from him on the major issue I have raised, and I will be making my final decision on this motion on the basis of other members' contributions to this debate.
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