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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4733 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

operators to make sure that they were of the highest reputation. In the area of gaming generally, great care needs to be taken because it is an area where, unfortunately, unscrupulous people do move.

The Burbidge report found that these standards were not met in relation to commercial dealings with VITAB, and in relation to identifying the beneficial shareholders and directors of VITAB. As a result, the interests of ACTTAB were not adequately protected. Again I quote from the report:

... I can only conclude that as with other aspects of this matter, either Mr Neck was so enthusiastic about the venture that he was prepared to disregard those steps which prudence demanded, or he was astonishingly inept.

Again I quote:

I find that Messrs Bartholomew and Tripp would not have satisfied even the most leniently applied probity checking.

And again:

Such checking as had been done was incomplete, inadequate and unsatisfactory.

Bear in mind, Mr Speaker, what Mr Berry told the house about probity checking in these matters - the Mr Berry who claims to be exonerated, who claims to be - - -

Ms McRae: And what does it say on page 61 of the report? You are reading very selectively, Mr Humphries.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, Mr Berry claims to be exonerated by this report. What did he say to the chamber about probity? He claimed that complete probity checking had taken place. Not according to Mr Burbidge, QC. Mr Speaker, any fair-minded person, after examining the Burbidge report, could only conclude that the previous Government suffered from an unbelievable incompetence that led to a serious lack of accountability.

The tragic factor in that is that the man responsible for that now wants to run this Territory. The report does not mince words when it comes to the lack of probity checks applied to some of the dubious characters involved with the VITAB scandal. There are a number of conclusions that can be drawn from the Burbidge report. Perhaps the most glaringly obvious one is that this Territory cannot afford to have Wayne Berry as its next Chief Minister. His cavalier attitude to one of the most fundamental tenets of our political system, accountability, rules him out from ever holding this important office.

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