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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 1 Hansard (16 February) . . Page.. 151 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander attempted self-harm during that period and that a further two detainees identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander attempted suicide. Because of the small number of ATSI detainees in the centre at any one time during 1998, I am loath to provide dates or details to the Assembly at large because they may serve to identify the detainees involved.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I said during question time that I would table correspondence between me and Mr Stanhope and I now do so. I table a letter that I wrote to him on 8 May and attached to it a letter I wrote to the chair of the Justice and Community Safety Committee, Mr Stanhope's reply on 31 May, my reply to Mr Stanhope on 31 July and his reply to that letter of 6 August. I want to quote one paragraph from the letter of 6 August from Mr Stanhope to me, in which he says:

I note that in your previous letter, you asked to receive my views. You did not, as you infer, ask me to consult the Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety. When the matter comes before the Committee, the Labor Party representative, Mr Hargreaves, will advise the Committee of the Labor Party's view.

MR BERRY: I seek leave to make a statement pursuant to standing order 46. I have been misrepresented.

MR SPEAKER: Proceed.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, the Chief Minister selectively quoted from press releases which I had issued as late as 7 December 1998. Of course, Mrs Carnell did not quote all parts of the press releases which I then issued. For example, she did not talk accurately about the job advertisements. If she had, she would have been saying that at that time the trend in ACT job advertisements had been running contrary to the national trend, but the full effect of those might not show up until about six months later. I hope that we do not get that sort of result. One of the most important things that Mrs Carnell left out of her quote from that press release was:

The best that Kate Carnell can come up with is an indecent haste to sell ACTEW which will lead to another round of job cuts in the ACT if her "fire-sale" plan proceeds.

Labor fixed that.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Sit down, Mr Berry.

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