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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1954 ..

MR SPEAKER: The imputation that public servants have been - - -

MR BERRY: No, I have not talked about public servants. I am talking about the Chief Minister.

MR SPEAKER: In that case you can withdraw any imputation against public servants.

MR BERRY: I do not have to.

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, if Mr Berry does not have the guts to make his allegations directly, then he should not be making them in a veiled way which attacks the integrity of public servants who are serving not this Government but the whole of the community. If Mr Berry wants to say that a certain public servant lied, let him name the public servant and we will have a debate about that in this place. It is unfair to attack public servants in this way, and he should withdraw.

MR BERRY: Mr Humphries is trying to recraft history again. Let me say what my intentions were in relation to the debate before this place. It is about whether Mrs Carnell put evidence before this - - -

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

MR SPEAKER: We have a long budget debate to go. If you want to stay here, we will stay here for hours; but may I suggest that all of you just withdraw - - -

MR BERRY: I withdraw any imputation that any public servants lied.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you. Let us get some commonsense into this. I direct that to everybody.

MR BERRY: Not that I made any imputation, but it might keep Mr Humphries stuck in his seat for a little while.

MR SPEAKER: Just go on with your debate, Mr Berry.

MR BERRY: But I will make the point that the information that was put before this Assembly was incorrect. That information was put to this Assembly by the Chief Minister. (Extension of time granted) It comes down to whether the Independents and Greens continue to accept that this Assembly can be given incorrect information by the leader of the Government. That is the point I make. On the face of it, you have to ask the question I raised a moment ago, which I am not going to raise again, fearful of the requirement to withdraw it. Incorrect information was given to this Assembly, and the Chief Minister should be taken to task on that score.

Mrs Carnell: Mr Speaker, I think that allegations to suggest that I misled the Assembly are very significant. If Mr Berry wants to - - -

MR BERRY: No; I said you gave incorrect information.

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