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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5195 ..

MRS CROSS (continuing):

gambling. You cannot go to business people, when they are earning an honest living, and say to them, "You cannot donate to Mr A, B or C."Why is it that you have seized on the corporate donation issue and, if it was an issue, why didn't you do something about it?

If we are looking at donations altogether, Ms Tucker, why don't we look at yours and make sure that we ban loans and we ban-what do we call them now, the new term- personal citizens, private citizens or natural persons? That is right, that is the new buzz word-natural persons. If you are going to do it, you do it right so that you do not benefit from it to the tune of $165,550. What hypocrisy!

Now to our exciting planning and health minister. This is interesting: he said that the bill was absurd and was based on a false premise. He feels that having donations is democratic and that the safeguard here is disclosure. Okay, if I commit a crime and I say that I committed the crime, does that mean I do not have to go to jail? That is the analogy that can be made.

He is basically saying that, if we say how much we get, then we do not have to pay the price, even if that money is tainted money from people who have gambling problems and irrespective of the fact that you, as a minister and a member of the executive, have a conflict of interest in accepting money from the profits of gambling-

Mr Corbell: On a point of order, Mr Speaker-

MR SPEAKER: Order! Withdraw "conflict of interest".

MRS CROSS: Did I say that? Oh, withdrawn.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired.

Question put:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

The Assembly voted-

Ayes 7

Noes 8

Mrs Burke

Mr Pratt

Mr Berry

Mr Quinlan

Mr Cornwell

Mr Smyth

Mr Corbell

Mr Stanhope

Mrs Cross

Mr Stefaniak

Mr Hargreaves

Ms Tucker

Ms Dundas

Ms MacDonald

Mr Wood

Question so resolved in the negative.

Personal explanations

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming): I would like to make a personal explanation in relation to the use of the term "seething antipathy".

MR SPEAKER: Proceed, Mr Quinlan.

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