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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (9 May) . . Page.. 1285 ..

Mr Berry: No.

Mr Humphries: Yes, he was. Mr Corbell asked about a statement that was issued by the Gungahlin Community Council. Mr Smyth is quoting from the statement. That is an entirely appropriate way to answer this question.

Mr Corbell: Speaking to the point of order, Mr Speaker: my question quite clearly was: Did the minister seek to have the president of the community council issue the statement he is referring to? That was the question, Mr Speaker. It was a very simple question. If the minister is not prepared to answer it, he is obviously avoiding it.

MR SPEAKER: I think the minister probably has answered it inasmuch as he said that he was in Melbourne on Friday. You must have a loud voice, Mr Smyth.

Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, there is an important principle involved here in how we answer questions. On quite a number of occasions you have ruled that ministers have some freedom in the way they answer questions. If we are restricted to the exact way a question is asked, then there will be the "Have you stopped beating your wife-answer yes or no" style of question. That is an extreme example; but exactly the same applies when a minister is asked a question that, as can often happen, carries implications in other ways. It is important that a minister be able to answer the question fully and that is what Mr Smyth is in the process of doing here.

Mr Berry: I rise to speak to the point of order, Mr Speaker. Mr Moore obviously made his plea to you without reference to the standing orders. Mr Speaker, we are, as Mr Moore might recall, bound by the standing orders on this matter and they say that the answer to a question without notice shall be concise and confined to the subject matter of the question. The subject matter of the question was whether Mr Smyth or his senior adviser pressured the president of the Gungahlin Community Council into making a statement. Mr Speaker, if he cannot answer the question, you should sit him down.

MR SPEAKER: Have you all finished? Under standing order 118(a), as Mr Berry quoted, the answer to a question shall be concise and confined to the subject matter of the question. We have been through all this on a number of occasions previously. I certainly will not rule that "concise" means yes or no.

Mr Berry: I do not expect that.

Mr Corbell: As long as he can gives us an answer to the question.

MR SPEAKER: The implication of this is that you are expecting the minister to answer in a specific way. I cannot direct the minister to do that, either. Within standing orders, answers shall be concise and confined to the subject matter of the question. Mr Smyth has not yet breached standing order 118(a). He is certainly confining the answer to the subject matter of the question. As for being concise, I have not really heard him fully.

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, the Gungahlin Community Council, of their own accord, issued a press release. I think it is worthy to read it because it goes straight to the matter of their submission. It is headed "Gungahlin Community Council does not support calls for Smyth to resign." It goes on to say:

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