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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3706 ..

MRS CROSS: Because that is the evidence that Mr Moore should have given to the committee-if indeed he did. That is not my evidence to give. That should have been given by Mr Moore. But I am prepared to put my hand on a Bible on this and tell you that that is exactly what Mr Moore said to me. He also passed that information on to other people, and what we have here is some people saying one thing and some people saying another. If your conscience was clear, you would not have treated those two women in the Assembly, the staffers of Mr Cornwell and Mr Stefaniak, the way you did. Your behaviour was appalling. To have members of the Liberal opposition telling their staff not to speak to these women because they did the ethical thing is reprehensible.

I can assure you that that is exactly what Mr Moore told me. He repeated that information to other staff in this Assembly. I expected Mr Moore to come forward with that information. If he has not, he should have, because that is exactly what he said. And you admitted it to Mr Osborne. Isn't it interesting that that evidence-

Mr Pratt: Are you making this up or is this a reflection of the evidence in the committee?

MRS CROSS: No, I am not making it up, Mr Pratt. Control yourself. This is a fact. This is exactly what I was told. Why I did not come to talk to the Opposition Leader about it is that I could not believe it. I did not believe that the man I looked up to and had complete faith in would do something like that. But when I watched the actions of members of the Liberal opposition-including Mr Smyth, Mr Humphries and Mrs Dunne-and them behaving in such an appalling way to the staff members in that gallery, I knew there was something wrong. It appeared like-

Mr Pratt: You are on Mars, Mrs Cross.

MRS CROSS: No, I am not a martyr. I am honest, and I know you cannot cope with that.

Mr Speaker, that is the truth, and unless that truth comes out we are going to continue to see a cover-up here which protects staffers sitting in that gallery.

MR HUMPHRIES (Leader of the Opposition): Mr Speaker, I know that generally speaking statements under standing order 46 are made at the end of a debate, but this is an extremely serious allegation which is being made, and I ask for leave to make a statement under standing order 46.

Mrs Cross: It is not an allegation. It is the truth.

MR HUMPHRIES: It is an allegation. It is extremely serious.

MR SPEAKER: I think it is a fair convention that statements on personal matters should be dealt with outside of a question which is being debated, and I prefer to stick to that, particularly-

Mr Humphries: In that case I seek leave to make a further statement.

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