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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 11 Hansard (6 November) . . Page.. 3723 ..

MR MOORE: My question is to Mr Osborne as chair of the Legal Affairs Committee. I gave Mr Osborne short notice, about 20 minutes' notice, that I would be asking this question. Mr Osborne, you would be aware, I presume, of the Deputy Chief Minister's comments in public today about surveillance cameras and there being hypocrisy on the part of some people in terms of believing there ought not be surveillance cameras in public areas while the surveillance cameras in the ACT Assembly were used for identifying some people involved in criminal activities. Do you think, Mr Osborne, that the report that your committee brought down dealt appropriately with this issue? Was the committee hypocritical in its approach as far as the report goes, or is the hypocrisy on the part of somebody else in this chamber?

MR OSBORNE: I thank you, Mr Moore, for the opportunity to answer this question. I think the saddest thing for me about this whole issue of surveillance cameras, Mr Moore, is not the fact that we do not have them. I think the saddest thing for me is the fact that members of this Assembly - Mr Kaine, Ms Follett and I - undertook a very long process. We investigated thoroughly the issue of surveillance cameras and put together a report, a unanimous report, back in September 1996. As you are well aware, Mr Moore, prior to the commissioning of the report the numbers were well and truly against any surveillance camera trial. It is fair to say that all members of the committee moved a certain amount in regard to surveillance cameras and we put together a report which gave the Government the steps to take to have a surveillance camera trial. All members of the committee, as I said, endorsed the report. What it basically did, as I said, was allow the Government to have a surveillance camera trial.

Mr Moore: No doubt they did that quickly.

MR OSBORNE: The saddest thing for me, Mr Moore, as chair of the committee, is that it took this Minister from the open and consultative Government, this Minister the members of whose party stood up yesterday, I think, and said how well the committee system is working, 10 months to respond to our report. It took not one month, not two months, not even six months; it took him 10 months to respond to our report. He then had the hide today to go on television and point the finger at the rest of us. The reality is that we should be pointing the finger at him, quite obviously. I will say once again that I do support surveillance cameras, but I think the reality here is that Mr Humphries has used the surveillance camera issue as nothing more than a cheap election stunt.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Moore, in what capacity did you - - -

MR MOORE: Mr Speaker, you want me to ask my supplementary question, do you?

MR SPEAKER: No. I want you to tell me in what capacity you asked Mr Osborne that question.

MR MOORE: He is chair of the Legal Affairs Committee.

MR SPEAKER: Yes, but the committee has reported.

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