Page 3918 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 9 November 1994
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MR BERRY (Manager of Government Business) (11.32): I am a member of that committee to which Ms Szuty referred, and I do not have any doubt about the issue; it is before the committee.
Mrs Carnell: Why is it on the notice paper?
MR BERRY: We have discussed it. So, let us stop kidding ourselves about this issue. Mrs Carnell, always in a hurry, wants to wheel out the little band wagon and subvert the appropriate processes in this Assembly to suit her own ego. It might be all right for Mrs Carnell, but I am not going to sit idly by and see that happen. I supported the Government's move in relation to whistleblower legislation. I think it was a good move.
I listened to the Chief Minister's speech in relation to this matter. She drew out a range of issues which would be of concern to the community, which are of concern to me, and which could be considered in the context of the committee's deliberations. It seems that Mr Kaine is not too keen. I suspect that the Liberals might be able to deal with Mr Kaine's level of keenness, but when it comes to the issue it will be looked at in the committee. That is the process which is appropriate, given that it is the understanding of everybody in this place, including the Liberals, no matter how much they deny it, that it is being considered by that committee. This is just another lightweight stunt to get interest focused on this issue again, but you failed. There is appropriate legislation in place, looking after these issues, properly decided by this Assembly. There is a committee process in place and it is chaired by a Liberal member. The matter is before that committee.
It is a whole load of old nonsense to rave on about Mrs Carnell's choice to have the matter considered here. Why did she not, in her caucus, direct Mr Kaine not to even consider the matter? There is no sign of that. I know that Mr Kaine will deal with this issue appropriately in the committee process, as he always does, and I am sure that at our next meeting this matter will be mentioned. How much detail we get through will be a matter of some discussion, I am sure. It will rate a mention, Mrs Carnell, you can rest assured, as it has rated a mention before.
I have to say that there is not a great deal of urgency about to consider it when we have in place a process which deals with the problems that you pretend are there. I do not know that the problems are in fact there. Some of the issues that Mrs Carnell has raised are in the usual vein - that is, to create the impression that something is badly wrong; that there needs to be immediate action to ferret out these wrongdoers and to expose them to the community; and that the future of the ACT community is in grave jeopardy unless we adopt her view. Thankfully, most of the community are running away from Mrs Carnell on those issues because they have now grown to understand what Mrs Carnell is all about - a stunt mistress. It is just stunt after stunt after stunt. We saw this morning's effort by Mr Humphries.
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