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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 1 Hansard (30 April) . . Page.. 262 ..

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal explanation under standing order 46.

MR SPEAKER: Proceed.

MR MOORE: The style of events that Mr Berry puts misrepresents - I am not saying deliberately - what actually happened in terms of the way Professor Pettit was nominated for the committee. I thought that it would clarify matters if I explained exactly what happened. The Chief Minister having announced the committee, I approached the Chief Minister and said to her that I thought that I knew somebody who would be very good as the chair of that committee, Professor Pettit. I provided her with a copy of the propositional summary from the back of his book entitled, Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government.

I reminded the Chief Minister that I had done a joint article with Professor Pettit which opposed her concept of citizens-initiated referenda; nevertheless I thought he would be the entirely appropriate person because of his understanding of the philosophical background in terms of political issues, political thinking and political philosophy. That is why I believed he would be an appropriate person. That is how the nomination occurred and that was the full extent of the exercise. Before I did that, I approached Professor Pettit to ask him whether he would mind if I nominated him. I would have thought that was a reasonable approach.

Although I cannot remember any specific cases, I believe that when the Labor Party was in government there were a number of times when I nominated people in a similar way when an idea was put up that perhaps somebody should be nominated. I have done it fairly regularly in the Assembly. Often those people were not chosen, but that was the process.

Motion (by Mr Humphries) proposed:

That the Assembly do now adjourn.

MR SPEAKER: Members, today marks the last day that our Principal Attendant, Mr Alex Fyfe, will be on duty. Alex will be leaving the Assembly from the close of business today and this will end seven years of very capable and conscientious service to the Legislative Assembly. Alex has been Principal Attendant since February 1991, having previously had a long and distinguished career in the police force in the ACT, Victoria and overseas.

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