Page 2635 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Mr Kaine: Another big furphy.
MR HUMPHRIES: Indeed, another massive furphy. Let us look at some of the other things that have been claimed, incredibly, during this amazing avoidance of blame today. Mr Lamont and Ms Follett claimed that the Pearce inquiry had exonerated the Government and Mr Berry; that nothing the Liberal Party had claimed had been borne out by the Pearce inquiry. Obviously, we must have a different version from the one that the Government is looking at.
I want to make a point too, Madam Speaker, about ducking and weaving on the part of this Government. When we stood in this place to debate the question of Mr Berry having misled the house, the claim was made repeatedly by Government speaker after Government speaker that we could not allow the matter to be debated then because it was going to be dealt with by the Pearce inquiry. I particularly want to quote something that Mr Connolly said. I quote:
I say to the Independents that this is a matter that goes to facts; it is a matter that goes to the state of Mr Berry's knowledge as to particular matters at particular times; it is a matter that goes to Mr Berry's involvement in this VITAB agreement process. Clearly, on your allegations, this is what this goes to; and the fact that that matter is clearly before a board of inquiry indicates that we should, as the Chief Minister urged, wait until the verdict is brought in before we pass sentence.
In other words, let us not debate this matter; it can be dealt with by the Pearce inquiry. But when we put those matters before the Pearce inquiry - - -
Mr Connolly: After you had passed sentence.
MR HUMPHRIES: When we put them before the Pearce inquiry the Government said, "No, no; this is a matter of privilege. We cannot deal with these matters in the Pearce inquiry. They should have been dealt with on the floor of the Assembly". You took pains to make sure that those issues were not properly dealt with. You did not enter into debate when you spoke, Mr Connolly. You said, "This matter will be dealt with by the Pearce inquiry. I will save my powder for then".
The fact is, Madam Speaker, that after that rigmarole was gone through there was no forum left where Mr Berry could be judged, but he has been judged by the people of the ACT. Now we have the extraordinary claim that it was the Liberals who sabotaged the TAB's re-entry into the superpool. Here is a government facing absolute and utter disaster that needs to find a scapegoat and it says, "We will pull out some tawdry unsubstantiated claim about Mrs Carnell having made a phone call to Mr Downy's office to prove that it was all the Liberal's fault". Madam Speaker, this Government is going to have to do a hell of a lot better if it is going to fool the people of the ACT, come February, into believing that they, and they alone, are not the sole people responsible for this absolute and utter unmitigated disaster.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .