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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 1062 ..

Mr Humphries (continuing):

Ms Tucker: I take a point of order on that point, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. I just heard you say that you could not understand where the issue of Mr Mico having access came into this debate. I suggest that you have not been listening, because Mr Mico has responsibility for managing the festival and the whole issue of his ability to manage the festival would be put at risk if it were out at Brindabella Park, and that would be the same for future festivals, so it is entirely relevant to this motion; it is one of the key issues.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Mico's contract, as I understand it, terminates on 30 June.

Ms Tucker: Oh, so that is why it is irrelevant. Great!

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: There is no point of order.

MR WOOD: I note that Mr Humphries did not take a point of order when Mr Stefaniak was a million miles off the track. But let me go on about misleading the Assembly. In answer to a question yesterday, Mr Smyth said that I should not assume that the festival will be coming out of CTEC. I will not accuse him of misleading the Assembly, although I think that is the case. Certainly, he has been obfuscating, because if he was not misleading the Assembly, he has left it very unclear. He is saying, "Do not assume that it will be coming out of CTEC." But yesterday the minister put out the following statement-

Mr Smyth: Where does it say that it will be coming out?

MR WOOD: It does not say that, but it is grossly misleading and would lead everybody who read it to believe that it would be.

Mr Smyth: No, you misunderstood it.

MR WOOD: No, I did not misunderstand it. Nobody I have met has misunderstood it. Let me read the headline to you, Mr Smyth: "New office to support all of Canberra's festivals". That is not misleading? I do not know what is if that is not misleading-"New office to support all of Canberra's festivals".

Mr Humphries: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker-

MR WOOD: Read Mr Berry's amendment, Mr Humphries.

Mr Humphries: I have just read Mr Berry's amendment carefully. If Mr Berry's amendment is passed, it will have the effect of saying that the Assembly censures the Minister for Business, Tourism and the Arts for misleading the Assembly and for his refusal to obey an order of the Assembly, being an order to provide documents to the Clerk. The previous paragraph, to which I draw Mr Wood's attention, says, "In respect of the decision of the Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation to relocate to the Brindabella Park commercial centre." Let us assume that Mr Smyth has misled the Assembly with respect to the festival. That is not the subject of this motion, even as amended. The first paragraph of the motion says, "In respect of the decision to move to Brindabella Park."

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