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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 4348 ..

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Corbell!

MRS CROSS: Mr Speaker, I am pleased to see finally that the minister is amending my amendment by one month, probably because it's Christmas and he wants to say that this is the Christmas present for Canberra. Unfortunately, in his press release, as I said earlier today, he refers to 2008, which in fact is incorrect. He should have checked the facts as my amendment clearly stated 1 January 2007-2007.

Mr Corbell: You told me yesterday 2008. Anything else is a lie.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Corbell!

MRS CROSS: I ask the minister to withdraw that, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: I didn't hear it. What was it?

MRS CROSS: He called me a liar.

MR SPEAKER: Withdraw it, Mr Corbell.

Mr Corbell: I didn't. I said it was a lie, and I withdraw the comment.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you. Please maintain order. Mrs Cross has the floor.

MRS CROSS: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, as I said, the minister's amendment moves my amendment by one month. I sincerely hope that this is not a cynical political exercise and that the government will support the bill as a whole and not vote it down in pure spite. This is something for the greater good of the community and we should be working together for this and not bunkering down in party politics to win points.

May I say, Mr Speaker, that I do not and never have made a point of misleading members of this Assembly. I have had a number of conversations with many members. As my Assembly colleagues Mr Smyth, Ms Tucker and Ms Dundas have stated, we have seen the merry-go-round on this go round so many times. We were so busy that we almost fell off.

You were not misled, minister. At the time that I spoke to you I explained to you that the only way we could get this bill through was with the Liberal amendment. We made that very clear to you.

Mr Corbell: 2008.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MRS CROSS: Unfortunately, because the minister chooses not to communicate with all of us unless he deems it-

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Cross, would you direct your comments through the chair, please.

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