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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 395 ..

MR HIRD (continuing):

that both of my colleagues and I will be able to comply with the requirements of the house for reporting.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

MR BERRY (5.06): During question time today, Mr Humphries made great play of a letter signed by me in relation to a refusal to give remission under the Freedom of Information Act. Mr Humphries made the point that he thought that the then Labor Government was more secretive than the current Liberal Government and that I, in particular, was more secretive than his colleagues have been. Mr Speaker, the freedom of information application was in relation to the contract between VITAB and ACTTAB. I will bet right now Mrs Carnell would rather have in her bag a dozen or so VITABs than the Bruce Stadium or the hospital implosion, for which she was directly responsible, and would wish to have well behind her a couple of inquiries without any adverse comments.

Mr Speaker, in relation to that letter, I am able to draw attention to a letter I received on 20 September last year concerning a freedom of information application. Guess what that was about, Mr Speaker? It was about finding out why it was that the Government had relieved its friend Mr Murphy of Market Cellars of the costs in relation to the taking of his trailer and the giving of it back and matters associated with that, which, I am told through my inquiries, were of the order of $200 or $300. Giving that sort of relief to friends is okay, but it is not given to ordinary people in the street.

I made that application under the current Freedom of Information Act. I included with it a cheque for the application fee, which is my practice because I do not like to see these things held up by some artificial means. Guess what again, Mr Speaker? Remission of the fee to me was refused. That is fair enough and I have copped it, but it is a bit of a joke for the Government to stand up here and make great play of a remission being refused by some government eons ago - in 1993 - when they have refused to make a remission themselves.

Ms Carnell: Did we give you the documents? Yes.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, they did give me the documents because they were required to do so under the legislation, but they did not give us the documents in relation to Bruce Stadium which they were required to by direction of this Assembly. I cannot help it if the former Liberal Opposition did not have the wit to pursue a course which might have achieved its aims, but in the end, Mr Speaker, this Government is just as secretive as any that has ever existed in this country; in fact, it is worse, and it is arrogantly so.

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