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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (30 June) . . Page.. 1850 ..

MR HIRD: I just heard an interjection from Mr Quinlan. He said, "Don't get personal". He got personal and went as low as I have ever heard any member in this chamber. He was talking about brown paper bags. I think there is a lot of shame there, Mr Quinlan. Thank you for reminding me. From listening to Mr Kaine, you get the impression that between 1989 and 1998 he was living in Antarctica rather than taking his place as a member of the Liberal Party in this Assembly. In relation to Bruce Stadium, Mr Kaine has given his version of history. I am now going to detail a series of facts that will cause everyone to question that statement made by Mr Kaine.

Mr Speaker, fact No. 1. Mr Kaine was Minister for Urban Services and Minister Assisting the Treasurer from January 1997 until February 1998. Today we have a no-confidence motion in Mrs Carnell as the Chief Minister and Treasurer. If Mr Kaine was the Minister Assisting the Treasurer during the period that the financing of Bruce Stadium was authorised, is he not also part of this motion? I would argue yes.

Fact No. 2. During Mr Kaine's time as Minister he was a member of the Cabinet which considered four submissions, as I understand it, relating to the construction, financing, tendering and hiring arrangements for Bruce. Four submissions, Mr Speaker. They were considered on 10 March 1997, 8 December 1997, 22 December 1997 and 12 January 1998. Do you know what the titles of two of them were? One was called "Bruce Stadium redevelopment - financing and management arrangements". The second was called "Bruce Stadium redevelopment - financing arrangements". So we have now established that Mr Kaine was not only Minister Assisting the Treasurer, but he was also a Minister who participated in four Cabinet meetings where the arrangements for the Bruce Stadium redevelopment were discussed and agreed upon. To use police terminology, we have the evidence that puts Mr Kaine at the scene.

Fact No. 3. Mr Kaine agreed with those Cabinet decisions. In fact, I am told that the recollection of the three other Ministers who were present is that he did not at any stage argue against them or express any opposition to the course being followed by the Government. In other words, Mr Kaine agreed with the direction taken by Cabinet on Bruce Stadium and its financing arrangements and management.

Let me now turn to fact No. 4. Let us assume for a moment that after the 1998 election Mr Kaine may have been so horrified with his involvement in these Cabinet decisions that he wanted no further part as a Minister in the Carnell Government. That would be okay except for the fact that I happen to know that Mr Kaine - I was not going to raise this, but I have to - sent to the Chief Minister a letter dated 4 March which says quite the opposite. Let me quote from part of that letter which was sent by Mr Kaine to Mrs Carnell. It says:

we all know that -

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