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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 06 Hansard (Thursday, 24 June 2004) . . Page.. 2735 ..

I, of course, took umbrage at that. When going through the history of the Karralika matter, as it was for me, at the top of page 222, I made the following comment:

While we are talking about that, earlier in this debate Mr Smyth said that I had gone to the resident’s house after 5 o’clock on Friday, after the press release had come out from the minister, and that I had made no mention of the call-in powers when I visited one of the residents in Jackie Howe Crescent. While I was there the neighbours of this resident came in—they are in the gallery today…I attempted to speak to them about the minister’s proposal—after his meeting with Mr Hargreaves, Mr Wood and me…Mr Smyth has made the comment that I withheld the fact that the minister intended to call it in; that I had not told them. I took the press release that Mr Hargreaves, Mr Wood and I had put out. I will read from it.

It continues:

It can be no more explicit than that. I really do take umbrage at the suggestion that I was trying to hide that.

I was drawing attention to the fact that I had not been trying to conceal anything and that I had been honest at all times with the members of the community I spoke to on the issue of Karralika. Then on page 226, Mr Smyth spoke. Did he say, “Well, I might have made a mistake about that”, or, “I may have been incorrect about what I said about Ms MacDonald”? No. I did tell him that he was wrong—that I had not done it in the way he said I had. Mr Smyth said:

Ms MacDonald raises some interesting points. She claims to have taken a press release. I went looking for the MacDonald press release.

I did not put out a press release. It was put out in my name, Mr Wood’s name, and Mr Hargreaves’s name—it was done on Mr Hargreaves’s letterhead—and that was made very clear to Mr Smyth. He continues:

It is a habit in this place that press releases go to the library so that the community can see what you have said and what you stand for. The last press release that Ms MacDonald…

Mr Hargreaves interjected with, “I sent it.” Mr Smyth continued:

If Mr Hargreaves sent it, then I will go and look in his file as well. A press release has gone out in Ms MacDonald’s name, but it does not appear to have been seen. It certainly had not been raised with the residents until confronted with the truth.

Mr Quinlan: He will be down to apologise shortly!

MS MacDONALD: I am still waiting for the apology and the correction from Mr Smyth from 11 February. I spoke to Mr Smyth and quite clearly told him that that was wrong, that that had not happened, but he did not correct it. He has not been into this place and corrected the record. I would like to see Mr Smyth uphold the standards that he is expecting everybody else in this place to uphold, and act how the minister has acted tonight.

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