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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (17 February) . . Page.. 283 ..

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I have nothing to withdraw. There is no obligation on me to withdraw. There is no imputation against any member in this place.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, I would ask you to withdraw. Do you mean to say that you can then regard this place as some sort of coward's castle where you can attack people outside?

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I do regard this as a place where I will be treated fairly by the chair in accordance with the standing orders.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Humphries has asked you to withdraw. I am supporting the request for you to withdraw the comment against somebody who is in no position to defend himself here.

Mr Berry: If they want to play politics on this issue, I am always happy to play politics.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Berry, it is not a question of politics. It is a matter of simple decency.

Mr Berry: I wish to draw no inference about Mr Sherman's character and withdraw anything that can be described as being such an inference.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

MS CARNELL: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The undesirability of the verbal assurances is dealt with on pages 32 and 33. There is no doubt that it is important that contracts be managed and supervised properly. Contractual provisions must clearly establish the roles and responsibilities of parties involved. Staff training has commenced as part of the development of the new demolition code. Six staff have completed qualifications in explosives. While I am pleased to see there is progress in this area, I do understand that more work needs to be done.

Safety at public events is dealt with on pages 22 to 23. This refers to the coroner's recommendation that organisers of public events ensure that the safety of the public is not compromised. A regulators forum comprising a wide range of government agencies has been established. It provides a means of exchanging useful information between agencies and discussing particular forthcoming events. It is intended that the regulators forum should have a sharper public event safety focus and act as an early warning mechanism to ensure that nothing slips between the cracks. I certainly support this. The coordination committee will address this issue to ensure that safety considerations and planning are discussed and implemented early in any event or project.

Mr Speaker, I wish to table a progress report which was used by the Government in response to the coroner's recommendations. This document has been used to monitor progress of the recommendations. As you can see, it outlines the current status of work and the substantial work that has already occurred. (Extension of time granted) The document was made available to Mr Sherman from the outset as a guide to progress in

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