Page 649 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 April 1994
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I turn now to the matter of the approval which was given to the ACTTAB board pursuant to the relevant legislation. I think Mrs Carnell has tried on a beauty here. You only have to look at the legislation and it dawns on you fairly quickly. I have to say that I do not think she read the legislation before she did that.
Mrs Carnell: I read it exactly, word for word.
MR BERRY: If you had read it you would have been very cautious about saying what you did. I think the key to the approval versus the direction argument is that the ACTTAB board asked for approval and I gave it pursuant to the Act, as is set out in the letter, of which you have a copy. I think there are some people missing the point of the legal argument. The power to give directions is in a different section which relates to situations where I want them to do something and they do not. That is why a direction is required to be disclosed under the Act. It is safeguarding the TAB from arbitrary ministerial interference. If they ask me for approval it is a different matter, and I think the Act makes that pretty clear. I think that is just a nonsense. Madam Speaker, I will not go over those issues any more.
I think there has been enough said about who are the directors of VITAB. I think I have explained the Oak matter, although I did not need to because I do not think that was a question which was up for debate in terms of anybody claiming that they have been misled. I merely explained the Oak matter because I think I said in the past that I would. Now I have. I think we agree on that, do we not?
Mr De Domenico: No, we do not.
MR BERRY: I thought we had earlier. If we disagree we will have to agree to disagree. I think you agreed that I had said in the Assembly that I would look at the matter and report back.
Mr De Domenico: I do not know.
MR BERRY: You do not know now?
Mr De Domenico: No.
MR BERRY: Okay. I have reported back.
Mr De Domenico: Have you? Yes, kicking and screaming.
MR BERRY: I do not know about that. I have also made it clear who the directors on the board were as at 10 October. I do not think that is in question any further. I think, overwhelmingly, that I have made clear the claim about which the Liberals became most concerned. I have to say after going through some of these Hansards that I agree with other members that it is a little difficult sometimes to work out the direction of this in view of all the interjections from Mrs Carnell and Mr De Domenico. The question which gave rise to a response in relation to the deal was a question from Mr Westende about
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