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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 12 Hansard (25 November) . . Page.. 3778 ..

MR KAINE (continuing):

the end of the day may well entail expenditure of public money. It is not appropriate for the Government to hide behind some sort of confidential barrier and say that the Assembly and its committees may not have access to them.

If Mr Osborne's motion had been simply that these documents be made available to the committee, I would have endorsed it without qualification. But I cannot and will not support a motion that says that the Government should be able to give these documents to a committee of this place under some cloak of confidentiality. It is just not acceptable, Mr Speaker.

Debate (on motion by Mr Hird ) adjourned.

MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (6.05): I move:

Mr Speaker, I want to make a brief observation about those who usually make observations about us, namely, the media. I am sure many here are aware that Dan Craig from Prime Television leaves the TV station this week to join ABC radio as a producer. Who of us will forget Dan's probing questions between cigarettes during the lunch suspensions of the Assembly?

Dan is unique among members of the television media who regularly cover Assembly politics. To start with, he is about the only one older than I am, I think. He is also the longest serving of those who regularly cover the Assembly. He is one of only a few journalists in the electronic media who could remember this Government's first term, let alone the former Government's term of office. It is a sad comment that his corporate memory is unique among members of the electronic media and will be lost to the TV electronic media with his departure for radio.

Dan will be long remembered for his televised giving up smoking campaign which, as those of us used to his questioning at lunchtimes on sitting days and elsewhere will testify, was a complete and abject failure. I am sure all members will join with me in wishing Dan the very best in his change to radio - or his return to radio, since he came from that area. I am sure we will all speak to him often in his new role at the ABC. But his passing from television is a mark we all recognise today.

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