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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 8 Hansard (25 October) . . Page.. 2019 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

on the night of 14-15 September this year. They went through those to identify what cages were being referred to, what hens were being referred to, what areas of Parkwood were causing this problem. Those officers between them were not able to substantiate the view that any of that footage or any of those photographs were taken at Parkwood Eggs. I ask you, Ms Horodny and Ms Tucker, to ask yourselves: Are you absolutely certain that this evidence has not been concocted?

Ms Horodny: Do you check every coroner's report about dead people in Canberra? No, you do not.

MR SPEAKER: Order! This is question time, not a cross-examination. I am reminding everybody.

MR HUMPHRIES: I have to say, Mr Speaker, that I have already made my answer very clear. I am going to rely on the advice of experts, not on the advice of well-meaning amateurs.

MS McRAE: My question is to Mr Humphries in his capacity as Attorney-General. Minister, you may be aware that, in a recent hearing of a public service disciplinary committee, the committee found that the evidence of Mr Hird could not be relied on. This statement would indicate that Mr Hird tried to mislead the committee. Minister, when you amended the Auctioneers Act recently and removed the requirement that auctioneers must be of good character, did you do so in order to protect Harold Hird, especially since auctioneers' licences must be renewed annually?

MR HUMPHRIES: I think Ms Horodny asked before about some creatures being covered in faeces. I think Ms McRae is doing herself a very good imitation of just that position. Mr Speaker, that is a quite disgraceful suggestion. May I, first of all, point out to Ms McRae that I did not amend the Auctioneers Act; the ACT Legislative Assembly amended the ACT Auctioneers Act. Ms McRae and her five colleagues supported the change to the legislation. I did not have a sealed section of the Bill that people could not look at before they passed it.

Mrs Carnell: A centrefold.

MR HUMPHRIES: A centrefold that was marked "For your eyes only". You all on that side of the chamber saw the terms of the legislation. I assume that Mr Connolly recommended to your caucus that you pass the legislation.

Mr Berry: Because we did not know about the scandal that was going on over there.

MR HUMPHRIES: You did not know what was going on. Mr Speaker, it was there in black and white. We were changing the arrangement for the registration of auctioneers. If you people missed it when it passed through the Assembly, that is not my fault.

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