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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 1 Hansard (13 February) . . Page.. 32 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

that somehow the government's expression that it wishes to work with the Auditor-General's report to enhance the capacity-

Mr Corbell: I take a point of order. Relevance, Mr Speaker. The question was quite specific: can the Chief Minister now say what mistakes he now acknowledges the government made? It is a simple question. He is yet to answer it.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. The Chief Minister can answer questions as he sees fit.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Corbell should be patient. The fact is, Mr Speaker, that the government has indicated very sincerely that its view is that the report of the Auditor-General on the Bruce Stadium needs to be taken seriously, and the implications for government need to be taken seriously as well-implications either at the level of the bureaucracy or of the government members themselves, that is the ministers-and the government, in doing so, has sent the clear signal to the ACT community, and perhaps to the opposition at the same time, that it intends to deal with the issues given rise to by the Auditor's statement in the most forthright, direct and comprehensive fashion that it can.

Mr Quinlan: Put the blame where it belongs-sack the tea lady.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Quinlan says it is belated. Belated or not, Mr Speaker, it is there. If the opposition is serious about wanting to put rigour back into the process of government decision-making in areas such as this it ought to support that process and support the exercise we have undertaken to reform, for example, a range of areas of government where, in the view of the Auditor, a less than appropriate process was used to deal with the redevelopment of Bruce Stadium.

As far as mistakes are concerned, Mr Speaker, first of all I will not presume to speak for the former Chief Minister. I think she has been accused of many things in this place. Members have made many statements about her role in this place. Indeed, the former Chief Minister has paid the ultimate price for her role in the Bruce Stadium redevelopment.

Mr Wood: Yours is yet to come.

MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you for the threat, Mr Wood. I look forward to meeting my executioner, Mr Wood. That would be a very exciting prospect indeed. Mr Speaker, mistakes at the level below the ministry have been detailed at length by the Auditor-General and I do not propose to rake over those. The opposition will do plenty of that.

As far as the government itself is concerned, I have to indicate very clearly that, on coming to the office of Chief Minister, I perceived that there was a resistance at a number of levels of government to the view that the Auditor's report ought to be taken seriously, at least in all respects. I can only indicate, in the clearest possible language, if not necessarily to those opposite then to the broader community, that the hallmark of the government that I lead will be an openness and a responsive to criticism when it is raised, and a preparedness, at least initially, to treat all criticism on

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