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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4786 ..

Mr Corbell: She has not.

Mr Humphries: Every last detail.

Mr Whitecross: Gary, you are not even blushing.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Hird): Order! Ms McRae has the floor.

MS McRAE: The matter is unpleasant. There is no question of that. Interpretations of our actions are very often chosen by all manner of individuals for all manner of ends. As I said to Mrs Littlewood, if she thinks this is the worst in her time, she ain't seen nothing. Some of us have lived through a couple more Assemblies than she has and some of us have lived through some far nastier unpleasantnesses than this.

Mrs Carnell was not ambushed. She was given warning. She knew what was coming. She has nothing to hide. She was the Chief Minister in a government car. She was given the floor to tell her story, and Mr Humphries went out of his way to ensure that the story was not told. That is the overwhelming impression that has been left for the people of Canberra. It is very easy for a government to start saying, "Oppositions cannot ask questions". There is many an opposition around Australia that has been bullied and pushed not to ask questions, and we have seen all manner of inquiries and unpleasantness when the lid has finally been pushed off.

I am in no way suggesting that I do not believe there is a problem here, but the problem has been created because the Chief Minister refused to answer and her loyal deputy intervened and prevented her from answering. This is a forum where any answer at all could have been given. The attack was made, and we had to wear the consequences of that attack. We knew what we were getting into. The Chief Minister used the forum, with the first question, to make sure that her point of view was heard. From there on in, the second question was stopped.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired.

MR MOORE (5.58): I shall be brief. In fact, my comment relates to that made by Mr Osborne in his suggestion that the Hon. R.J. Hawke would do well to repay to the people of the ACT the money that the people are out of pocket. It is an interesting suggestion because I believe that today is actually Mr Hawke's birthday; so, like the big department stores which, on their birthday, sometimes like to give people discounts and look after them, it might be appropriate that our former Prime Minister, on his birthday, extend his goodwill to the people of the ACT in so far as the people of the ACT are out of pocket to his benefit.

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