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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (11 April) . . Page.. 1009 ..

MR PRATT (continuing):

meetings if you are not going to attend ... In all the years I have been in office this is the first time that this Council has ever been treated in this way.

Are the allegations and statements made in this letter correct?

MR STANHOPE: I have not seen a copy of the letter, I have to confess. I know that my diary is extremely full to overflowing.

Mr Humphries: So was mine and I still got to those meetings.

MR STANHOPE: Is that right? I bet your diary is not as full as mine. I bet your diary was never as full as mine is and has been, Mr Humphries. I have an extremely heavy meetings diary. It is constantly full. As I said, I am not aware of the letter. I have not seen it. I will take the issue up.

Mr Pratt: Would you like me to table this for you?

MR STANHOPE: I don't know.

MR SPEAKER: Do you have a supplementary question, Mr Pratt?

Mr Pratt: Shall I table this letter for the Chief Minister?

MR SPEAKER: You can ask a supplementary question or you can sit down.

MR PRATT: My supplementary question is: Chief Minister, how do you reconcile this with your pre-election commitment to open and accountable government and the local ALP platform commitments to "listen to the community, take part in those matters that people find important and support them in their endeavours"?

MR STANHOPE: Ours is a very open government.

Mr Humphries: They can't meet with you. How can it be an open government?

MR STANHOPE: It is an open government. There are more members in this government that just myself. In fact, there are more members in this government than in any other government since self-government.

Mr Humphries: No, that is not true.

MR STANHOPE: You have had nine members, have you? I know that my Brindabella colleagues Bill Wood, John Hargreaves and Karin MacDonald meet constantly with the Tuggeranong Community Council. There is no more regular supporter or attendee at meetings of the Tuggeranong Community Council than John Hargreaves.

Mr Smyth: How do you know that?

MR STANHOPE: I just know it to be a fact. You know that too, Brendan.

Mr Smyth: We will check the attendance record.

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