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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (17 February) . . Page.. 265 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry can scoff all he wishes. The fact is that that is the direct advice that has been given to me. I can advise the Assembly that the letter that was submitted to me for my signature by my department was the letter which I signed without amendment.

Mr Berry: Your office told them they were not getting the money.

MR HUMPHRIES: I beg your pardon?

Mr Berry: Your office told them that they were not getting the money.

Ms Carnell: How do you know?

MR HUMPHRIES: No, my office - - -

MR SPEAKER: I will treat that as a supplementary question very shortly.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, the reference Mr Berry makes to my office telling them they were not getting the money was a reference to a telephone call made after the decision that I have just referred to was conveyed to the Law Society and which, in turn, presumably was conveyed on to the Women's Legal Centre. They then rang my office, spoke to a member of my staff, and made inquiries about the matter. Then they were told that that was my decision - that there had been a decision as conveyed by me to the ACT Law Society. So the inference that they were told before the brief came in is not true. They were told only what had been decided by me pursuant to the advice of my department.

Mr Berry: Yes, payback.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry, you can live in your little fantasy world of conspiracy, ulterior motives and so on if you wish. You can make all these sorts of connections if you wish. I might point out that the Women's Legal Centre was not the only organisation that was refused money under that arrangement.

Mr Stanhope: Who else?

MR HUMPHRIES: The Environmental Defender's Office was also refused money on the same basis.

Ms Carnell: They didn't say anything about the abortion issue.

MR HUMPHRIES: No, I do not recall them saying anything about abortions, so what is my motivation to get them, I wonder? I hate trees? I want to knock down trees and so on?

Mr Speaker, my principle concern about the proposals from the Law Society was that, despite a growth in the amount available under the statutory interest account for dispersal in this way, there was only a very small increase proposed for ACT Legal Aid,

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