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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (11 May) . . Page.. 1454 ..
MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, my question, through you, is to the Attorney-General who, at one stage in his career, was minister for the arts. I hope members will grant me a little leniency with a short preamble to this question. The question goes back to a short comment in the Valley View of 11 April when it was reported that a member of this Assembly apparently had asked a community organisation in Tuggeranong whether the plaque on their new premises could feature him as the sole opener. The Valley View commented:
It could have something to do with this particular politician seeking a higher profile leading up to a possible push for a greater role in politics-a Senate seat perhaps, or even Mrs Carnell's job?
Since it was reported to have occurred in Tuggeranong, I did not think that the Attorney-General would have had anything to do with that; but I was running through the names of the five existing members in Tuggeranong, any one of whom might have been associated with such an event. I can certainly say that it was not me. I have already served as Chief Minister and I have no desire to retire to the Senate. If it was not me, was it one of my other Brindabella colleagues-Mr Wood, for example? Was it you, Mr Wood?
Mr Wood: No.
MR KAINE: Mr Hargreaves, perhaps.
Mr Hargreaves: Not me.
MR KAINE: It was not you. Mr Osborne, was it you?
MR SPEAKER: Order! Ask your question.
MR KAINE: The only other option is Mr Smyth. I know that Mr Smyth is ambitious and is given to shooting himself in the foot occasionally, but I thought, "No, Mr Smyth is not up to something like this." I thought again: Senate aspirations, Mrs Carnell's job, and came to a conclusion. Based on that conclusion, I ask the Attorney-General and former minister for the arts, just to be absolutely certain: will you deny that, in an attempt to stop others from sharing in the limelight, you contrived to have somebody else's name removed from a plaque at the opening ceremony of a community organisation in Tuggeranong?
MR SPEAKER: I am pleased that the question finally got round to something of some relevance. Any suggestion about who might be standing for other positions is quite out of order as it does not refer to portfolio responsibilities. You can answer about the plaque, if you wish.
MR HUMPHRIES
: Yes, I do deny the accusation that Mr Kaine has made. I can advise members that I visited the Tuggeranong Arts Centre last probably about 12 months ago to attend a function there and I noticed that there was no plaque indicating the opening of
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