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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2743 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

I am relaying to the Assembly what those public servants have told me and I believe them. The document that Mr Corbell refers to was not on the same file as the one that was dealt with. In fact, l will read the advice that has been provided to me. They, that is the department, have advised me that, like the other documents and emails not provided to the committee, it was due to an oversight at the time. It was on a departmental file not checked on 22 or 23 June due to the urgency in providing the requested information. The department accepts responsibility for this error and they suggest to me that I accept their advice on this matter. That is what they have written for me to say.

I wish to assure Mr Corbell and other members that there was no intention to withhold information from the Estimates Committee. Mr Speaker, if I had a public servant in any department I administered who deliberately withheld information from an estimates committee or any other committee of this Assembly I would sack them straightaway. I would sack them because I believe in accountability under the Westminster system, and I believe that we have an obligation to provide that accountability as appropriately as we can. That is the standard that this government is not afraid to state and to live by, Mr Speaker. The documents Mr Corbell refers to were not produced then because they were not in the place that the public servants looked in the short space of time available to them.

I might make one other observation, Mr Speaker. If it had been the intention of either the government or the public servants to keep Mr Corbell and his committee in the dark, you might ask the question, "Why did we provide the documents that were subsequently provided under an FOI request?"

Mr Corbell: Because you are incompetent.

Mr Stanhope: Because you were not involved.

MR HUMPHRIES: Okay. You have just answered the question. It's the old adage-if there's a choice between a conspiracy and a stuff-up, go for the stuff-up every time. Mr Speaker, as I have just conceded to members, that is exactly what happened in this case. There was an error on the part of the department.

Mr Corbell: So you admit it was incompetent?

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, I admit that there was a mistake. I have said that. If you want to call what the department did incompetent, yes, it was, and they have apologised to me for that fact.

Mr Corbell: Okay.

Mr Hargreaves: And where is ministerial responsibility?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, if Hansard recorded every word they would have more words from those opposite than from me.

Mr Corbell: That is a hard ask.

Mr Hargreaves: I don't think so. Not in your wildest dreams.

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