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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (10 March) . . Page.. 518 ..

PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal explanation under standing order 46.

Leave granted.

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, during an answer to a question earlier today the Chief Minister again asserted that I retained Cabinet documents after I ceased being a Minister. That matter has been brought up in this place before. I refuted it absolutely then and I refute it absolutely now. I think the Chief Minister is overstepping the bounds when she continues to make that assertion. Unlike the Chief Minister, I do not even refer to Cabinet documents to which I was privy when I was a Minister in debates in this place. The Chief Minister seems to call upon them with impunity to try to imply something about my performance or my involvement or something. I think she is going outside the bounds of her responsibility when she does that.

Mr Speaker, in relation to this matter, I also draw your attention to standing order 55 which says:

All imputations of improper motives and all personal reflections ... shall be considered highly disorderly.

I believe that the Chief Minister is guilty of being highly disorderly under that standing order. I ask you to take that matter under advisement and to make a ruling on it. I advise the Chief Minister to be careful, if she is going to continue to make this assertion, to confine it to this floor because if she goes outside and makes that assertion we will deal with the matter in another place.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you. I shall have a look at that matter for you, Mr Kaine.

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer): Mr Speaker, I also would like to make a statement under standing order 46.

Leave granted.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, just to explain the comment I made: If Mr Kaine does not have the documents and we do not have the documents, who does?

Mr Kaine: It is your job to find out, not to accuse me of having them.

MS CARNELL: You did not return them. Ask your staff.

Mr Kaine: You are telling lies, Chief Minister. You are telling lies and you are going to have to substantiate it one of these days.

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