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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 7 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 2123 ..

Mr Berry: He never corrected it.

Mr Stanhope: He has not corrected it. If he had corrected it we would not have gone ahead with this.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I am really sick of having to shout over those opposite. I would like to be able to make this point without being interrupted.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

MR HUMPHRIES: If members believe that a member immediately is subject to censure if they make an inaccurate statement but have corrected the statement subsequently then we set for ourselves an impossibly high standard in this place. The Minister has made clear what occurred. It is on his remarks today that he should be judged. Today the Minister tabled a letter to him from Guy Thurston, the executive director of ACTION. It has been tabled and it is on the record. We can all read it now. Mr Thurston says in the last paragraph of this letter which is addressed to Mr Smyth:

In summary you were correct in saying as yet we have received no firm offers from the TWU. This remains the case now.

That is dated today, Mr Speaker. The Minister is obliged to report to the house his understanding of the situation. His understanding in this case comes from the public servant whose obligation it is to advise him on questions relating to such things as negotiations with the Transport Workers Union. His senior public servant advised him on that question. He gave him clear advice saying, "we have received no firm offers from the TWU".

Mr Smyth has tabled that advice in this place. He has clarified the accuracy of what he said yesterday. More importantly, in the motion Mr Stanhope moved, he has not suggested at any stage that anything that Mr Smyth said today was inaccurate. Nothing he has said today casts aspersions on Mr Smyth's statements today. What he is therefore relying on is what Mr Smyth said yesterday.

Mr Berry: He lied deliberately.

Mr Quinlan: If and only if today did not satisfy yesterday. It did not.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, does Mr Stanhope say he lied deliberately yesterday or today?

Mr Quinlan: Yesterday.

MR HUMPHRIES: Yesterday. Okay. Thank you, Mr Quinlan. Mr Quinlan says that Mr Stanhope is suggesting that Mr Smyth lied deliberately yesterday. If that is true, and I do not believe it is, Mr Smyth came into this place today and clarified his statement. He corrected his statement. With the support of this house he rose and corrected his statement. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, if it is not to be accepted by the house that Ministers can do that, then inaccuracy of any kind, even if it is subsequently corrected,

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