Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 2 Hansard (6 March) . . Page.. 624 ..

Overall, Mr Speaker, I thank members for their support of the bill.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

MR SPEAKER: Do you have a point of order, Mrs Dunne?

MRS DUNNE (12.16): It is not a point of order. I seek your guidance, Mr Speaker. I contemplated making a statement under standing order 46. I will do that and then seek your guidance. I wanted to respond to the misrepresentation in the Chief Minister's speech about the bushfire authority bill.

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, you had the opportunity to speak in the debate.

MRS DUNNE: It was not about the debate, it was about a misrepresentation of what I said.

MR SPEAKER: It was open to you to speak in the debate-it was perfectly open. If you want to make a statement under standing order 46, you can seek leave to do so, now or later.

MRS DUNNE: I seek leave to do so now.

Leave granted.

MR SPEAKER: I remind you that standing order 46 is for making statements of a personal nature-it is not to debate the issue.

MRS DUNNE: I know that, Mr Speaker. In the debate today, the Chief Minister said that I wanted to sack the bushfire taskforce.

MR SPEAKER: That is not what the Chief Minister said. I was listening closely.

MRS DUNNE: I was listening closely, as well. The Chief Minister said-we might have to go back and check the Hansard-words to the effect that I wanted to sack the bushfire taskforce because I thought they were not up to the task. I would like to read from yesterday's draft Hansard as to what I did, in fact, say.

The Chief Minister said, "We are all well aware of the expertise in the Bushfire Taskforce. I have previously congratulated the government on assembling such skill and such talent in such short time, and the skill and talent extends not just to the taskforce members but to the staff that support them. And I can think of no better person than Sandy Hollway to head up this taskforce. But this taskforce is merely an advisory body.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .