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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 5 Hansard (6 May) . . Page.. 1440 ..
MR HUMPRHIES (continuing):
I have committed an enormous amount of time and energy in doing work for the Croatian community in Australia. This has included writing submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, the Human Rights sub-committee; writing speeches and papers that have been presented at the Macquarie University; the Croatian Embassy and other forums; and helping with a documentary produced by Barry Lowe, which was used by Care Australia to collect donations for a ultrasound machine to be sent to a Women's Centre and Hospital - Tresnjevka in Zagreb, Croatia.
This I do because I have a commitment to my community as well as to broader social justice and human rights issues. For instance last year I went to the War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. I have recently become a member of the International Humanitarian Law Committee (branch of the Australian Red Cross) and representative on the ACT working group for the National Committee on Human Rights Education that was set up by the Commonwealth Attorney-General.
I am distressed to hear that it is now alleged that I somehow tried to influence the Bender family in their choice of lawyer for political purposes. I feel that my integrity and the reasons for my work within the Croatian community have in a grossly unfair way been called into question.
I want to make it clear that I have nothing against Mr Collaery and in fact I have on several occasions when asked by members of the Croatian community who needed legal counsel who I would recommend, I have suggested that they might like to go and see Mr Collaery. I am at a complete loss to understand why these allegations involving me are now being made.
It is signed by that member of my staff. Mr Speaker, I table that statement. Mr Speaker, I also want to read onto the record a statement by the person whom I have called Y. It is dated 5 May 1999 and reads:
To whom it may concern
My name is Y and I reside at -
an address in the ACT -
On the afternoon of the 5th May 1999 I received a phone call from X. The purpose of this call was in regards to when I accompanied X to visit Mr and Mrs Bender, a short time after the tragic death of their beloved daughter Katie.
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