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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (13 November) . . Page.. 4155 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

I have not had a chance to read this report, obviously, but I have read the recommendations. Recommendation No. 2 is that the Legislative Assembly request the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to examine the principle of commercial-in-confidence. The report itself has a significant go at the Government with regard to commercial-in-confidence. Similarly, Mr Berry has made similar comments in this place. I think it is appropriate here to put on the record some of Mr Berry's past comments about commercial-in-confidence. I quote from page 401 of Hansard of 2 March 1994 on commercial-in-confidence. Mr Berry said:

It is fair enough that people who have commercial contracts with the ACT would expect them to be kept in confidence. None of the Liberals' friends would be too happy if their contracts with the ACT Government were all exposed to the community and to their commercial competitors; neither would they be satisfied if any of their tendering arrangements with the ACT Government were exposed. At any time the Liberals could leap to their feet and say that there is a big question mark about the tendering arrangements in relation to such and such. People who support them would scream their heads off if those tendering arrangements were released and exposed commercial advantage for one group over the other.

I will go on. I will now go to 22 February 1994:

The issue of commercial-in-confidence contracts is one that has been raised here before. As I have indicated in this place, unless I had the agreement of the company to table commercial-in-confidence matters I would not table them. I have also informed this chamber before that the company is in agreement with the concept of offering no inducements ...

He went on to make the point that he would not make commercial-in-confidence documents available to the Assembly unless the company agreed. Mr Berry also said:

It is commercial-in-confidence. It was an agreement between VITAB and us. While that commercial-in-confidence position is observed by both parties, it will be observed by us.

I could go on forever, because Mr Berry has made those comments time and time again when it has suited him. Now that it does not suit him, we have a totally different position. That is of concern to me and I think it should be of concern to all members of the ACT community, because this is the man that will, more than likely, be Chief Minister after the next election. We have somebody who can be absolutely 180 degrees different - not just a little bit different, but absolutely at odds - depending on what suits him at the time.

Similarly with this report, given the very small amount of it I have had an opportunity to read. I heard Mr Berry in his comments say, "We certainly found there might have been a need for a couple more" - or "a few more" - private hospital beds, but we certainly did not need this sort" - 100-bed type - "of facility". I got to page 5 of the report, and what it says there is really interesting. It reads:

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