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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2505 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: You did not tell me today.

Mr Berry: It is not your Bill.

MR HUMPHRIES: If you had discussed with your spokesperson on electoral matters at that time what had been agreed, you would have known that there were amendments coming forward.

Mr Berry: I did not go to the round table.

MR HUMPHRIES: You did not have to. You had a representative there at the round table.

Mr Berry: Is this really your Bill and is Michael running it for you?

MR HUMPHRIES: You can laugh, Mr Berry, but this inept performance by a man who purports to be the next Chief Minister of this Territory is not impressing anybody who is watching this process. If you are going to run a government in which only the Chief Minister makes any decisions and if someone comes forward with a decision that another Minister has made and you want to overrule it and all you can do is sit there and giggle, then you are going to be pretty embarrassed as a government if Ministers have to say, "Sorry. The Chief Minister has not had a chance to look at this yet. I cannot make any decisions". The fact is that all of us in this place, except apparently Mr Berry, know that parties have to work as teams and that we have to make decisions collectively. It means that sometimes we have to delegate the task of negotiating one on one with other parties. We had those discussions and negotiations on the Electoral Bill. We appeared to reach substantial agreement about them. Mr Berry now apparently does not like that agreement - - -

Mr Corbell: Did you not hear what Mr Whitecross said?

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, I did. Mr Whitecross did not accurately relate the facts of the matter.

Mr Corbell: You deny that, do you?

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, I do, and Mr Moore will also deny it. He was present at the same time. You ask yourself who is telling the truth in these matters, Mr Corbell.

Mr Corbell: I would much rather believe Mr Whitecross than you.

MR HUMPHRIES: Fine. I am sure you would; but I tell the Assembly very clearly that there was discussion on these matters. It took place on the same day that Mr Whitecross and a member of his staff came up to the second floor to discuss proposed amendments to the Financial Management Act. Are those amendments going to be thrown back in the melting pot as well, Mr Berry? I have to assume so at this point. Those amendments were also discussed by the then shadow Treasurer with Mr Moore - I think Ms Tucker was present - the Chief Minister and Treasurer, and me. We were all present. We all had those discussions.

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