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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4790 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

and from the ACTTAB board found no fault with VITAB and no fault with ACTTAB's involvement with the organisation. They were the decisions of the time. I was advised that it was a good deal; that it could increase revenue to the Territory. My mistake, I suppose, was that I trusted that advice. But who among us has not at one time or another trusted advice? The longer we stay here, the less we trust, it appears; but we take responsibility for that trust in the advice we receive.

Three years later the Burbidge inquiry has been scathing of that advice but recognises my efforts to abide by due process and ensure that checks were carried out not only by ACTTAB but also by the Treasury and the Government Solicitor. I did what I could, as a Minister, to ensure that the interests of4 the ACT were protected. Probity checks were conducted. When I found that my instructions were not heeded, I pressed for probity checks to be conducted, and I think that was recognised in the Burbidge report. I do not think there is any doubt that the advice given to me left a lot to be desired. One of the things that I have learnt is that advice has to be received with caution, and it has to be received with due regard to the interests of the community.

I am sorry that as a Minister I allowed the ACT to be involved with VITAB; but that is an easy decision to come to after the event, and it might sound easy to say that I am sorry that I allowed the ACT to become involved with VITAB. However, at the time my decisions were based on my understanding of all the issues and I made them to the best of my ability at the time. I paid the price. That is life in politics. The most important thing is that I have learnt from the mistakes of the past.

As a Minister or as an elected representative, one can never be too vigilant in protecting the taxpayer. It is why I take my job as Leader of the Opposition so seriously. It is why I demand scrutiny of the Government's actions. People criticise me for always attacking the Chief Minister, but I learn from my own mistakes. Does anybody in this chamber have a mistake-free life? Nobody's hand goes up. That is one of the realities of life. Regardless of what advice I received in relation to VITAB when I was Minister, ultimately I was responsible and I took the blame. It is a shame that the Liberals have not learnt from the mistakes of the past. The Victorian TAB cancelled our superpool link because of suggestions that VITAB was offering inducements. Inducements were the issue which concerned most TABs around this country, the totalisator agency board industry around this country, if you like. It was the tax haven offered to an operator in Vanuatu which enabled them to offer an inducement to punters in Australia which concerned the TAB industry in the country. I took every step possible to ensure that inducements did not occur while I was Minister.

Yesterday Mrs Carnell seized upon a letter that was mentioned in the Burbidge report at page 38, saying that I was warned about the VITAB event a few days before it was announced. I suspect that when the letter was sent the agreement was already signed. It was sent on Friday, 5 November. I am not quite sure whether I received that letter before the announcement on the 8th; but it was sent from the Minister's office in New South Wales on the 5th, on the Friday, and the announcement was made on the Monday. Mrs Carnell said it was a warning. Let us see what it does say. It says:

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