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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 2 Hansard (6 March) . . Page.. 658 ..

MRS CROSS: No, Bill, not comrade. You have the temerity to sit there and accuse the Chief Minister of misleading the Assembly. You are the experts at misleading the Assembly. For you to waste this chamber's time on a censure motion against the Chief Minister, when we have more important business to conduct, is devious. You are a hypocrite. I do not support this.

MR CORNWELL (4.12): I had a look at the Hansard of yesterday's question time. Mr Stanhope mentioned the word "whitewash"four times on one page. He said:

I took a point of order and objected as a member of the Liberal Party because an attack on the party is an attack on individual members. Mr Stanhope accused me of not supporting my leader when I made the point that each individual in this party could have stood up and demanded an apology for that statement. They did not get it. It was then directed at the leader of the Liberal Party and not other members. There has been no attempt-

Mr Hargreaves: I take a point of order, Mr Speaker. I believe Mr Cornwell is anticipating debate.

MR SPEAKER: There is some crossover, but I would ask the member to be explicit about the reasons for wanting to suspend standing orders.

MR CORNWELL: I understand entirely. I am simply showing why there should be a suspension of standing orders to allow this matter to be thoroughly thrashed out. The word "whitewash"appears on four occasions on one page alone. There has been a failure to accept that Liberals other than me feel that they have been maligned by this comment. Certainly the opportunity should be allowed for the leader of the Liberal Party to protect himself from these slurs. The independent Labor member over there, Mrs Cross, laughs, but I believe there is justification for the suspension of standing orders so that the matter can debated in full.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming) (4.13): I can relate to what Ms Tucker said. I too switch off on some of the crap that occurs in this place. But one man's crap might be-

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Quinlan! You can withdraw that too.

MR QUINLAN: Okay, I do. I do not usually like to get into these debates, but the blinding hypocrisy of this lot today is gobsmacking.

Mrs Cross: Hypocrites.

MR SPEAKER: Order! "Hypocrite"has been ruled out in this place time and time again. I would ask you to withdraw it, Mr Quinlan. I would also ask Mrs Cross to withdraw it.

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