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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 12 Hansard (14 November) . . Page.. 3618 ..

MR STANHOPE (continuing):

The findings of the committee, as we note from the presentations made by the chair and the deputy chair today, are certainly grave. A particularly grave finding of contempt has been made against a member of the staff of the Leader of the Opposition. That is extremely serious. In the history of this parliament, without question, it is the most grave and serious finding against any member of staff of this place.

The government will take the opportunity to read the report and to digest it and to read and digest the minority report, and we will give due consideration to an appropriate response. Of course our response will be guided by the detail and content of the report, once we have had an opportunity to digest it, and our response too will be guided by the response of the staff member of Mr Humphries found in contempt. Indeed, our response will be guided also by the response of the Leader of the Opposition.

It needs to be remembered that this contempt occurred in the office of the Leader of the Opposition. This contempt was perpetrated by a senior member of the staff of the Leader of the Opposition. This contempt was brought to the attention of the chief of staff of the Leader of the Opposition. This contempt was made known by members of the staff, one assumes, of the Leader of the Opposition. The government awaits with interest the response of the Leader of the Opposition to those facts. This report reveals that there was a serial interference with the mail of Mr Wood, an interference that occurred over a number of months, an interference that involved significant numbers of pieces of personal mail.

We have just heard from Mr Smyth his interpretation of the events. I guess Mr Smyth's interpretation of these most serious events causes me some concerns, to the extent to which he seeks to apologise for, exonerate or explain away, the seriousness of the diversion of the personal mail of a minister of the ACT government, as if it were just some mere flippancy, some bagatelle, something that is not serious, something that is not a grave offence of itself, let alone something that should become embroiled in discussions around whether or not technically it is an offence. It is a most serious and grave interference. It is morally reprehensible.

To use an analogy, this is no different to reading one's neighbour's mail if Australia Post accidentally drop it into one's letterbox at home. Not a single member of this community would think that that behaviour was acceptable by any standard. If Australia Post accidentally drops a letter of my neighbour's in my letterbox, it is somehow right, appropriate, moral or explicable that I open that envelope, read that mail and use it for whatever purpose I deem appropriate. Not a single member of this community would accept that that behaviour is appropriate or defensible. Yet we have just seen an attempt to defend that very sort of behaviour in relation to electronic mail.

Let us not be confused by the technology here. An email is a piece of personal mail. It is personal, private communication. It is no different from the mail delivered by Australia Post. Yet the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is already building a defence around that behaviour.

There has already been some internal Liberal Party fallout from this affair. This affair has been particularly damaging to the reputation of this place. It is particularly damaging to the reputation of the member of staff found guilty of the contempt. It is particularly damaging to the reputation of those other staff who knew but did nothing, and it has been

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