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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (28 June) . . Page.. 2131 ..

MR

HUMPHRIES (continuing):

without parliamentary privilege behind them. They want to make the claims with parliamentary privilege behind them because they know that they are not true and they know that they are defamatory.

The effect of my amendment is that no reporting can occur of the assertions without also reporting the qualification that the house has placed upon the words. So it does make a difference. I think Mr Berry's amendment adds nothing to my amendment. It simply complicates it.

MR

OSBORNE (12:24): Mr Speaker, I do not think Mr Berry's amendment does anything really. I think perhaps you should have ruled on this in accordance with House of Representatives Practice. I can understand why the Labor Party is a little bit embarrassed about this. Mr Hargreaves has clearly got it wrong. Apart from the fact that he slandered members of this Assembly, he just got it wrong.

Ms Lennon, when quizzed about this by the estimates committee, said:

Mr Hargreaves, I can confirm again that, in fact, the Women's Legal Centre has not had a decrease in funding from previous years.

She goes on to say, in fact, they have got a CPI increase. So, Mr Speaker, apart from the fact that there is something that some of us find offensive in what Mr Hargreaves had to say, he just clearly had not done his homework.

MR

HARGREAVES (12.25): I want to correct something the Attorney-General has said. He suggested that the Labor Party has been spinning this out for some time to get some sort of media attention. I challenge the minister to table, or even present me with, one media statement from my office that has gone out on this matter.

Mr

Humphries: Because you cannot do it; because you have not got the thing out on the table-that is why. That is what you are aiming for.

MR

HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, he cannot do it. He has been sprung yet again. There has been no media mention of this from my office. So how in the world can that mealy-mouthed minister over there stand up here and say that we have been making media capital out of it? We have not. That is a blatant untruth, and you know it.

Mr

Humphries: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. First of all, I have not said that the opposition was making media capital out of this. My point is that the opposition wants to make media capital but cannot do so until this motion is passed. Secondly, to say that it is another untruth on my part is a further offensive comment under standing orders. Mr Speaker, over the last two days Mr Hargreaves must have been asked to withdraw about a dozen times comments-personal reflections on other members-which were in breach of standing orders. I ask you to consider whether the point is not fast being approached when Mr Hargreaves needs to be reminded of the standing orders. Do you have a power to throw someone out of this place if they will not obey the standing orders?

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