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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 3 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 764 ..

MR SPEAKER: It is a slur upon the character of the member.

MR WHITECROSS: Under which standing order, Mr Speaker, am I being asked to withdraw?

MR SPEAKER: Standing order 55 says:

All imputations of improper motives and all personal reflections on Members shall be considered highly disorderly.

It is a personal reflection.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, on the basis that it is a personal reflection, I will withdraw it.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Whitecross.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, I believe that this has to be strongly rejected. It is a political stunt by one political party to attack another political party. That is all it is. The Liberal Party received $1m in donations. Let them apply these principles to themselves. Is $200,000 from commercial property investments too much? Is $120,000 in secret donations from the 250 Club too much? Where is their conflict of interest in there? When the Liberal Party come into this place with honesty and integrity and a consistent position, we can debate this again. I urge members on the crossbenches not to involve themselves in a silly stunt by Mrs Carnell.

MR KAINE (Minister for Urban Services) (12.16): Mr Speaker, the question of conflict of interest is not one that has taken up a lot of the time of this Assembly over the last nine years, and I did not expect that it would take up much time now either. The fact that the Leader of the Opposition became so agitated over this issue makes me wonder. I have never seen him so agitated in all the time that he has been in this place. Consider his body language, his shaking of the finger and his drinking of water. I think he drank a whole glass of water during one small participation in this debate. The fact that he is so agitated makes you wonder why. He went way beyond the terms of this motion.

Ms McRae: Why do you not talk about the issues?

MR KAINE: That is what I am going to do.

Ms McRae: Why do you not do it?

MR KAINE: I would like you to do the same. This motion, Mr Speaker, merely talks about abstaining from participating in debate or legislation that has to do with the operation of gaming machines, not with gambling generally, not with donations from clubs, not with secret donations which Mr Whitecross chose to define as secret.

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