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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3755 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: The fact is that Mrs Carnell did not know what the position was coming into last night, so she rang Ms Tucker and asked her where she had misled the Assembly. She had seen Ms Tucker's press release saying that the Chief Minister had misled the Assembly, and she asked her, "Where have I misled the Assembly? I would like to know what I am going to have to defend tomorrow". Ms Tucker's answer was words to this effect: "I do not know yet. I will not know tonight. I will get back to you tomorrow". If I have misrepresented the situation, she can rise in her place and clarify that under standing order 46. I look forward to her doing that. I hope she will confirm that last night she could not supply to Mrs Carnell either the terms of the motion or any details of where she had misled the Assembly - a very serious allegation. She could not tell Mrs Carnell last night where she had misled the Assembly.

That exhibits one or other of two states of mind on the part of Ms Tucker. Either she was lazy and had not yet got around to putting together the motion and the case against Mrs Carnell, even though she had had something like three weeks in which to do so; or she was being dishonest or cowardly about the way in which she would approach this task today. Whatever the reason, I submit to the Assembly that it is an unacceptable use of the power to move a motion of no confidence in a Minister in any government for that kind of approach to be taken to a matter as important as this.

I have said before and I say again today that we are devaluing the currency of censure and no-confidence motions in this place. Talk about deregulation of the market. The Labor Party and the Greens particularly have comprehensively deregulated this area. There are now four no-confidence motions to the dollar. They are worth almost nothing. I ask members to read tomorrow's Canberra Times, if it arrives, and see where this issue is reported. Censure motions and no-confidence motions particularly are usually run on the front page of the Canberra Times.

Mr Berry: It depends on whether it gets passed.

MR HUMPHRIES: Even when they have not passed they are run on the front page of the Canberra Times. See where it runs tomorrow. I reckon it will not get much coverage, either in the electronic news tonight or in the pages of the Canberra Times tomorrow.

Mr Berry: Bill Clinton will be all over the Canberra Times tomorrow.

MR HUMPHRIES: There is room for more than one story on the front page of the Canberra Times, Mr Berry, in case you had not noticed.

Mr Berry: Not when Bill Clinton is around.

MR HUMPHRIES: We will see whether there is more than one story on the front page of the Canberra Times. Mr Moore made the point that this is a very serious matter and should send a shot across the Chief Minister's bows. Frankly, I am not sure that it will, because these motions are moved so often that they do not mean anything, either to people in this Assembly or to the general public of this community.

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