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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 04 Hansard (Tuesday, 30 March 2004) . . Page.. 1249 ..

MS MacDONALD (10.53): I will be brief. I rise to add my support to the committee’s report. It was a unanimous decision that the actions taken by Mrs Dunne in regard to the flyer distributed in her name about bringing Aldi to the Belconnen Markets was indeed a contempt of the Assembly. I believe that the second recommendation, that is, that there should be ongoing professional development in parliamentary procedures and conventions for all members, is an important one.

I was rather alarmed at the fact that Mrs Dunne, after the flyer had been distributed in her name and she had stood aside from the planning and environment committee while that inquiry continued and action was taken to correct any perceived bias being put out in the community by the leaflet about Aldi being at the markets and while the privileges committee was still in train, chose to put out a press release entitled “Dunne ‘vindicated’ by Belconnen Markets report” when the report came down on Aldi and the markets.

The committee looked at the press release put out by Mrs Dunne and put up on the website of the Liberal Party and, while we did not determine that it was not necessarily a contempt, we did have a lengthy discussion about the press release and we believed that it did not help the issue. I suppose my concern in particular in relation to this press release was that I would have thought that if I were in a similar situation to Mrs Dunne—we have all been known to make mistakes and the Aldi at the markets flyer could be considered to be a mistake—I would be circumspect about my future actions.

I was concerned that Mrs Dunne did not seem to have such circumspection concerning the privileges inquiry then taking place. If she had put out a press release with a different title when the planning and environment committee decided to agree to Aldi going to the markets, it may not have been a problem, but the use of the word “vindicated” in the title seemed to us to fly in the face of what the privileges committee was considering at the time.

As to the fact that Mrs Dunne mentioned that she had stood aside from the inquiry following concerns about the pamphlet issuing an invitation to market shoppers, et cetera, I agree with what Ms Tucker has said about this privileges inquiry being a wake-up call for all members of the Assembly. Since I have been on this committee, I have been considering my actions as a chair more closely and being more circumspect about my responsibilities as both a chair and a member of a committee. I hope that Mrs Dunne has learned from the fact that she has been found in contempt of the Assembly through this action.

As I said, I was alarmed to see the press release that Mrs Dunne put out, but she did do that the weekend before she came and spoke to us. I would like to think that Mrs Dunne, having appeared before the privileges committee, would, if she had had her time over, have been a little bit more circumspect about the press release that she put out. I do not have any more to add.

MR CORNWELL (10.58): I, as the third member of the committee, rise to support the committee’s recommendations. The first point I would make is that there but for the grace of God go any of us. The situation the committee was faced with was that the case was not a clear case. As we developed in subsequent recommendations, there was difficulty in deciding intent in this regard. I believe that we have made the right decision

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