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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 4118 ..

MR SPEAKER: I certainly question the relevance of what is being said. We have had it out before on this question of reflecting on votes.

Mrs Carnell: Just deny it.

MR BERRY: We need to get all the background straight here. Mr Speaker, I do not recall ever being in the same room as Bob Carr in my life. I do not recall ever being in the same room. I have not ever met with Mr Carr on the issue of ACTEW. I do not think I have met with him ever. So, we have a situation here where the Chief Minister has been prepared to stand in this place as the head of the Government and deliberately put to this Assembly information which was untrue.

The Liberals were given the opportunity for the Chief Minister to climb to her feet and demonstrate to this Assembly that what she was claiming was true, but they shirked the job. They were not game to do it because they could not prove it. They all know that what Mrs Carnell said was untrue. She cannot back it up. This ought to be a lesson to you, Mrs Carnell. Do not come into this place, as Chief Minister, and make claims which are recklessly or deliberately untrue. This is the person who has been censured for misleading the Assembly in the past, Mr Speaker.

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: Mr VITAB - I mean, Mr Berry - has provided as much information as he can on this subject. He is now moving on to personal vitriol, I think. If he has nothing further to say, he should be called to order and asked to resume his seat.

MR BERRY: If you want to make a circus of the place with statements like that, we will just add a little to the amusement. Mrs Carnell, you will have the opportunity to climb to your feet as soon as I sit down and say to this Assembly, "I misled this Assembly and I am sorry". If you do not climb to your feet in this place and say, "I misled this Assembly and I am sorry", Mr Honesty over here, Mr Moore, will climb to his feet, if he has any standards about him, and move that you be censured. That will be the test. So, now is your chance. There are two chances here - for you to be honest and for him to be honest.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (3.51): Mr Speaker, I can jump to my feet and say that, as I said in my statement, my sources in New South Wales, which actually did come from the union movement, did give me the information that I had, and I suppose it is who you believe.

MR SPEAKER: You need leave, but leave is granted - - -

MRS CARNELL: I think I have said it; it did not matter.

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