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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 7 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2215 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

submission for that grant, the ACT Government indicated that they would be providing $185,000 for roads, $64,000 for other associated infrastructure and $300,000 for the water supply. All of those items are capital works items. They are in this budget already, Minister, and they will not be changed as a result of the fee.

The advice I have received from the Commonwealth department says that the grant will be made as long as the ACT Government matches the $200,000 in kind, in whatever way. The $185,000, the $64,000 and the $300,000 are there. If the fee goes ahead or not, the Commonwealth will pay the money. The contract has been signed with Canberra Tourism. On this issue, Minister, you have been caught out deliberately threatening members of this Assembly and trying to convince them to support your proposal on the basis that the funding for the visitor information centre will not go ahead.

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, Mr Corbell has suggested that I have deliberately misled members of the Assembly. That is a breach of standing orders, and I ask him to withdraw.

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, I will withdraw the suggestion that he has deliberately misled the Assembly, but the Minister has misled the Assembly. Perhaps he did it unknowingly, but he has misled it.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Corbell, just withdraw it and let us get on with the business. We have a lot of business to do.

MR CORBELL: Minister, if you apologise for inadvertently misleading the Assembly, I will withdraw.

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, you have asked him to withdraw. He has refused to do so. I think there is a course of action open to you.

MR SPEAKER: There is only one course of action if you do not withdraw, Mr Corbell.

MR CORBELL: I withdraw, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

Mr Wood: It does not change the facts.

MR CORBELL: It does not change the fact that the Commonwealth has committed this funding and that this funding will proceed whether or not the fee is put in place. The Minister knew that when he made his statement. He should apologise to the Assembly now for putting that statement out of context. It is virtually blackmail, and the Assembly should not accept it. The Government has not in any past statement linked the introduction of the fee to the funding of the new visitor information centre or to any other project outside of the four they specifically mentioned in an answer to the Assembly last week.

Mr Whitecross: Be a man, Gary.

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