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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1215 ..

MS McRAE (continuing):

Commonwealth's involvement is and potentially could be and what the private sector involvement is and potentially could be. That is the point of concern. It would help if you listened, Mrs Carnell. It has nothing to do with the price of the land. It has to do with this Assembly being absolutely clear on what the Commonwealth offered - offered, past tense - in April and March and from the very beginning, and what the Commonwealth is offering now. That is the point of contention.

You referred to correspondence. You referred to matters which had been discussed. I think it is only courteous of you to provide the Assembly with whatever you choose - I did not ask for a whole bucketload of paper - to affirm your statement that it has been clear from the start that any clean-up would be a matter for further negotiation with the Commonwealth. A statement in your most recent press release of 7 May is at clear odds with what was said to Mr Moore's committee on 28 April and what was said to me in answer to the question on 3 May. That is why this motion is being run. You can obfuscate it with whatever you like, but that is exactly what the question in hand is, and that is why we are putting forward a motion.

Mrs Carnell: What has it to do with anything?

MS McRAE: It has everything to do with the right of the Assembly to be given clear and accurate information. This press statement of yours said:

... it has been clear from the start that any cleanup would be a matter for further negotiation with the Commonwealth.

Okay, that is your contention. The Assembly is now asking for clear, unequivocal proof of that. That statement of yours on 7 May flies in opposition to statements you made on 3 May 1995 and on 28 April to the committee.

Mrs Carnell: No, it did not. It is exactly the same statement.

Mr Berry: Yes and no are exactly the same? Come on!

MS McRAE: This is what we are being asked to believe today, Mr Berry. That is why we are moving this motion.

MR DE DOMENICO (Minister for Urban Services) (4.02): Mr Speaker, I suggest that what Ms McRae just said to us was that she does not believe what the Chief Minister has said.

Mr Berry: It is probably a bet. That is round about right.

MR DE DOMENICO: Hold on; wait a minute. If Ms McRae really believes that, there are processes involved in the standing orders for her to test that out in this place.

Mr Berry: This is one of them.

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