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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 845 ..
Mr Stanhope: Yes, let us talk about Harcourt Hill. I think we might move onto that soon.
MR SPEAKER: Let us stay on the topic, please.
MR QUINLAN: The first part of this amendment is about allowing you to continue on the deal that you are going to get approval to continue on tonight, but making it mandatory that you bring the deal back to this place; that you actually inform us. We would like to know what number it is. Is it $300m or is it if at all that we may get from the sale of half of our electricity assets?
Ms Carnell: We are not selling it.
MR QUINLAN: We are not selling them. Mr Humphries said we are not selling them but we aim to buy them back. Now, how do you buy something back you did not sell? He has been using weasel words to gild the lily. The thing is that if you give somebody control of something, half your assets, and you take money, that is a sale.
Mr Moore: Not when there is a guarantee that you would be able to buy it back.
MR QUINLAN: A buyback is a buy. You cannot buy something back that you did not sell. As I said, you are wandering on the edge of stupidity, Mr Moore.
Mr Rugendyke: Sit down, Ted. You have said enough. We are all stupid, we know.
MR QUINLAN: David, I think you have been conned.
Mr Rugendyke: No, I have not been conned. I am very pleased that the Government has agreed with my position.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Settle down everybody.
MR QUINLAN: I would be very pleased, Mr Speaker, to sit down with Mr Rugendyke, as I have been doing, and discuss this, and I am sure that within about five minutes I could demonstrate to him that there are holes in the logic that he is using to support that. Mr Speaker, it is sensible to put this qualifier, the words "negotiation of the", into the motion to ensure that the Government has to come back to this place at least for ratification when it will deign to give us some form of basic information. I commend the amendments to the house.
MR KAINE
(7.45): I am sorry that I have to say that my friend Mr Quinlan has somehow been sidetracked by the ideological position of the Labor Party to the point that he totally misunderstands the purpose of this motion. If he goes to the next item on the agenda and looks at the Bill that we have yet to debate, he will note that clause 11(3) says that the Minister must have the approval of this Assembly by resolution before he can vest any assets in this new venture. That does not say that he can only negotiate to do it. Once we pass the Bill, which we will before the night is over, this little addition to this motion is totally negated because to negotiate is not a part of the requirement of the
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