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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2124 ..

Berry: Come on, sweetie.

SPEAKER: I direct that remark to everybody.

Humphries: Mr Speaker, you have made a ruling already on the words, or the almost identical words, that Mr Hargreaves uses in his dissenting report. The Assembly is perfectly entitled to anticipate your ruling in a similar way in respect of the amendment which is before the house.

Berry: There is an admission already that they were not the same words.

Hargreaves: They are not the same words, and you know it.

Humphries: They are almost identical words.

SPEAKER: I have ruled already on the matter in answer to your question, Mr Berry. You took a point of order and I have just given you an answer. I have ruled on it.

Berry: Mr Speaker, you did not rule. I asked you to rule whether amendments to motions can anticipate your rulings; whether it is open for amendments to motions to anticipate how you will rule.

SPEAKER: There is no suggestion of this in this amendment.

Berry: Mr Speaker, let me read it to you. The amendment reads:

The Assembly notes that certain comments in the dissenting report of Mr Hargreaves, if used in the Assembly would constitute a breach of the Standing Orders of the Assembly and would be required to be withdrawn on the basis that they were offensive or imputed improper motives to Members of the Assembly.

If that is not anticipating a ruling from you, I do not know what is.

SPEAKER: It is not anticipating any ruling at all. It is a question for the Assembly to decide. It begins with the words "The Assembly notes". It is up to the Assembly to decide on this matter. I have already ruled on the earlier matter, so there is no point of order there. In other words, Mr Humphries is pointing out that, having already indicated that comments made in here were out of order-

Hargreaves: It says "if". This is the key word.

Berry: "If used in the Assembly", Mr Speaker.

Hargreaves: Not "when used" but "if used".

Berry: This is the old hypothetical in the extreme.

Humphries: No it is not. Anyway, standing orders say that a hypothetical issue cannot be raised in a motion.

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