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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (18 November) . . Page.. 4180 ..

MR CORNWELL (continuing):

Yet, after we read this at 3.34, we see that recommendation 2 of a majority of this committee finds that the Minister for Health, Mr Corbell, was in contempt of the Assembly, but recommends that no further action be taken. I have repeatedly said in this house that, under this government, nobody is responsible for anything in this territory. Everybody has rights but nobody has any responsibilities, far less obligations. It appears that this disease is now spreading to the crossbenches as well, because we have the chair of this Privileges Committee making the same point.

Mrs Cross: Point of order, Mr Speaker: that was an imputation. I ask the member to withdraw that statement.

MR CORNWELL: I have no reason to withdraw it, Mr Speaker. I will simply make the point that it did not involve Mrs Cross.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order, Mrs Cross.

MR CORNWELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Mrs Cross: It is an imputation, Mr Speaker. The standing orders clearly state that it is an imputation. You have made an imputation. I ask you to withdraw that statement, Mr Cornwell.

MR CORNWELL: The imputation, sir, applies only to question time, as you would be aware, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Order! This is a debating point. I cannot find that that is an imputation.

MR CORNWELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The fact is that a contempt has been found but the recommendation is that no further action be taken. What sort of message does this send to anybody in this territory coming before a committee of the Assembly? "We can say what we like because, if we are even taken before a Privileges Committee, and that Privileges Committee finds us guilty of contempt, no further action will be taken anyway."What a weak, wimpish approach! What sort of leadership by their elected representatives does this show to the people of the ACT?

My leader, Mr Smyth, quite rightly said that this place is diminished by such a performance. It also indicates to the executive that they can have unfettered power. It looks as though the matter has spread even further than just the crossbenches, because I see here at point 3.50, in relation to comments made by the ACT Health officers in their document:

I admit the committee had the grace to go on to say that this matter was of concern to the committee but, again, it is indicative of the attitude of the bureaucracy that it does not have to worry about this committee or about this Assembly. They can simply come before us, presumably, and say what they like because no action will be taken.

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