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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (3 September) . . Page.. 2946 ..

MR SPEAKER: That is entirely up to Mr De Domenico. I repeat that Ministers shall answer questions as they see fit.

Ms McRae: But they shall answer them, Mr Speaker, with the emphasis on "answer", may I point out.

MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Speaker, I suggest that you are the Speaker and not the next Leader of the Opposition over there in the red coat.

Mr Whitecross: This week.

MR DE DOMENICO: Don't you talk about this week. You should read - no, you should not do anything because you are - - -

Ms Follett: Have you got the answer?

MR DE DOMENICO: I have the answer, Ms Follett. Ms Follett talks about redundancies. If Ms Follett had listened to the answer to the question, she would have heard me say that 600 staff members from the Department of Urban Services will be transferred from the Department of Urban Services to Totalcare. No-one will be sacked. That means that 600 will go from one to the other without anyone being sacked. Should any of those 600 decide to accept voluntary redundancies, those voluntary redundancies, as with every other voluntary redundancy in the ACT Public Service, will come out of the central pool. Ms Follett should have known that, because she was once the Chief Minister. She has had about five questions. Give her another one.

Ms Follett: Mr Speaker, I want this on the record - and it is a point of order: Mr De Domenico has not attempted to answer the question which I asked, which related to redundancies following 1997, when the government businesses are untied.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order, Ms Follett. Resume your seat.

Ms Follett: Mr Speaker, with respect, if you are going to allow a Minister to give an answer which is completely irrelevant to the question, I think that is a very sad day for this Assembly.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

Ms Follett: I think there is.

Mr Kaine: Mr Speaker, I have a point of order. You have already ruled that Ms Follett has none. I would draw your attention to standing order 202(a), which I submit the member opposite is guilty of breaching, and, if you like, have a look at standing order 202(e).

MR SPEAKER: I will consider the matter, Mr Kaine. Did you have a question?

Mr Kaine: Yes, I did. I would ask you to rule on my point of order in due course, Mr Speaker.

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