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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 9 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 2911 ..

MR BERRY: Considering that compliance irregularities were identified by Labor's internal audit in 1994 and recommendations were made then, why has the Chief Minister done nothing except give in in the EBA since 1995, and, more particularly, in the last three months since the Auditor-General revealed that the recommendations made by the 1994 audit had been ignored?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, that is without doubt the longest and most convoluted question we have ever heard in this house. But that is all right; I am very happy to answer it.

Mr Berry: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. I did not ask whether the Chief Minister liked the question or not.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Chief Minister is preparing to answer this.

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, that was an abuse of a point of order. When are we going to get to the point when those sorts of points of order are not permitted?

MR SPEAKER: Everybody will settle down. I call the Chief Minister.

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. To try to put some form of congruence to Mr Berry's question, I will start off with the June 1994 internal audit that I think Mr Berry raised.

Mr Berry: Under Labor.

MRS CARNELL: Yes, under Labor. This was an internal audit, Mr Speaker. Unfortunately, the Labor Party did not table it and did not make it public. Under those circumstances there was no way that my Government could have known that it even existed.

Mr Berry: Management had it.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Berry!

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, there is no way that my Government could have known that it existed.

Mr Berry: Ha, ha! You are a laugh.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, I am not going to tolerate interjections today, and I say that to all members. I will deal with them. The Chief Minister has a sore throat like lots of other people, and I do not believe she should have to shout over interjections. Continue, Chief Minister.

MRS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. I appreciate that.

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