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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1167 ..

MR SMYTH: Mr Hargreaves confuses locations with crews. He listed a number of locations, but they are not necessarily indicative of the number of crews. I believe that we have six-it might even be seven-crews at the moment, but I will check on the number of crews for him. But you should not mistake the difference between locations where crews may be stationed and the actual number of crews. The assumption there, as often with questions that we get from the opposition, is wrong. There are different sorts of crews and there are different sorts of vehicles. Yes, there is SouthCare, which has a different sort of vehicle. We have ambulances which have all the lifesaving capabilities and we have fast-response vehicles. That is what is being talked about in the initiative in the draft budget.

MR HARGREAVES: I have a supplementary question. Minister, why have you misled the public by, firstly, claiming that you have provided funding for the sixth crew, no matter how you describe it-

Mr Moore: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. An accusation of misleading the parliament can only be made under a substantive motion.

MR HARGREAVES: I said "misled the public". Can I start again? Your ruling, please, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Yes, I would like you to withdraw it. There is an inference there.

MR HARGREAVES: Mr Speaker, I have not suggested, nor would I, that the minister has misled the Assembly.

MR SPEAKER: Whom did you suggest was misled?

MR HARGREAVES: The public.

MR SPEAKER: Very well.

MR HARGREAVES: Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. Minister, why have you misled the public by, firstly, claiming that you provided funding for a sixth crew when patently you have not and, secondly, dressing up the provision of two roving non-emergency paramedics as another ambulance crew and using semantics to get out of this issue? Will you now apologise to this Assembly for misleading the community over this so-called achievement? The statement in your web site is about an achievement and you have not made one. Will you now apologise to this Assembly for misleading the community?

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, he claims that he does not have to withdraw the word "misled" because it was about the public. Suddenly, I have to apologise in the Assembly for misleading-

Mr Hargreaves: I did not.

MR SPEAKER: No, he was very careful about the use of the word.

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