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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (2 September) . . Page.. 2713 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

It is with that background that one can imagine the sadness which has spread across the world at the loss of this young woman. Those of us who have lost people in similar circumstances would also be shocked at the suddenness of this tragic incident. I suppose that in the ensuing weeks we will hear many tales about how this tragedy occurred. Already, events are unfolding which cause one to question the circumstances which led to the demise of this young woman. But the thoughts of all of us go out to the family of Diana, who would be greatly shocked and grieving at this great tragedy. Our thoughts go out to her sons and to those in the Royal Family who would also be grieving as a result.

I think it is most important that, as a parliament, we extend our thoughts to the people of the United Kingdom who are greatly attached to the history of their monarchy and to all of those people who have made a contribution to the development of that country. There would be many millions of people in the United Kingdom who would be deeply saddened by this event. Our thoughts go out to them. Mr Speaker, I repeat that we wholeheartedly support this motion.

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, in rising to support this motion and the comments made by the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition, I too extend my sympathy particularly to the family of the Princess of Wales. The Princess of Wales has been brought to us by the international media. She represents, in many ways, the beginning of a new phenomenon whereby an individual can be brought to the world through the media so that each of us sees her as our own friend, as a person who we believe achieves a great deal, and particularly in relation to the issues raised by the Chief Minister.

Mr Speaker, I remember the first time I shook the hand of somebody whom I knew to be HIV positive, an AIDS sufferer, and I remember my concern at doing it. In fact, recently I met the person and mentioned the concern I had at the time. When somebody takes an action like that, in retrospect it is easy to recall that there was not any particular danger, that it was fine; but, at the time, one did not know that. At the time, the Princess of Wales was not sure about the risks to herself. We saw that she was prepared to take the same risks to raise the issue of landmines. It was these sorts of actions taken by the Princess of Wales that, I think, made her a special person to many people across the world.

I will not reiterate the words of the Chief Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. It is important for us to think about what a legislature like ours can do in response to the issues that come out of this. I think one of the most important issues is the issue of privacy. Where we draw the line between the right to privacy and the right of the free press to be able to publish and speak freely is an issue that needs to be dealt with, not just by us but by legislatures internationally. It is for that reason, Mr Speaker, that I think it is appropriate that our representative on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,

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