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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2835 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

be providing. That is why this government's response, through the Civil Law (Wrongs) Bill which was tabled last week, is appropriate. It is a hard-headed-

MR SPEAKER: I think we are anticipating debate now.

MR STANHOPE: Okay.

MR STEFANIAK: I ask a supplementary question. Attorney, when did you decide to adopt such provisions as part of your legislation? Was it before or after 17 July this year? If it was after, are you trying to catch up with Mr Smyth's legislation?

MR STANHOPE: Mr Smyth's response to this issue is farcical.

Mr Smyth: Have you read the bill?

MR STANHOPE: I often think about majority government and the evils of minority government.

Mr Smyth: Have you read the bill?

MR STANHOPE: When I think about the absurdities of a minority government, I think of things like Mr Smyth's legislation-a puerile, shallow, knee-jerk, ad hoc, headline-hunting response to the insurance crisis.

Mr Smyth: You are embarrassed.

MR STANHOPE: The nation is struggling with a major issue. Two major national inquiries are in place-one pursuing medical indemnity insurance, one pursuing public liability insurance. Three ministerial councils are acting coherently, consistently and nationally to deal with the insurance crisis, and we get this juvenile response from Mr Smyth: "Let us ban advertising by lawyers. I can fix the insurance crisis. We will ban advertising by lawyers. That will fix it. We will stop lawyers from advertising. That will bring the premiums down. We will get a bit of better information here and there. That will fix it. And what else are we going to do?" Mr Smyth thinks this abject nonsense will resolve the insurance crisis.

Mr Smyth: Have you read the bill?

Mr Corbell: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. Mr Smyth has been consistently interjecting on the Chief Minister. You should ask him to-

MR SPEAKER: Fair point. Members of the opposition will be quiet. The Chief Minister has concluded his response.

Remand facility

MR CORNWELL: My question is to the minister for corrections. That sounds rather sinister, doesn't it? Mr Quinlan, in July 1999 the Assembly Committee on Justice and Community Safety, of which your colleague Mr Hargreaves was a member, made the following recommendation:

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