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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Thursday, 26 August 2004) . . Page.. 4339 ..

accurate, and that she does so by tabling in this place the evidence that she alludes to as existing.

MS TUCKER (3.40): I was hoping Mrs Cross would respond to this.

Mrs Cross: I will wait for you.

MS TUCKER: I will vote accordingly, after having heard what Mrs Cross has to say. She is telling us now she will respond to this motion. At this point, all I have heard is that the question obviously implied that there was a photograph existing of Mr Stanhope on Red Hill. I think it is perfectly reasonable, considering the inferences that have been made by Mrs Cross, that she table that photograph. I will listen to any explanation that she may have.

MRS CROSS (3.41): Mr Speaker, it is clear to me that the Chief Minister is doing everything to avoid telling the truth, and the truth is—

MR SPEAKER: Order. Withdraw that, please. You can’t impute—

MRS CROSS: What, “telling” or “truth”? Well, telling untruths, then.

MR SPEAKER: No. You can’t impute—

MRS CROSS: “Being less than candid?”—can I say that?

MR SPEAKER: First of all you can withdraw the accusation that the Chief Minister is doing everything to avoid telling the truth.

MRS CROSS: I withdraw that, Mr Speaker. I would like to rephrase that and say: the Chief Minister appears to be doing everything to prevent us knowing what happened the night of 17 January.

I do have a comment to make about what he said. His privacy has not been invaded. He is Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, he is accountable to the people of the ACT and during one of the greatest and worst disasters of this territory’s history, this Chief Minister denied that he was anywhere for 48 hours related to the fires.

Constituents of mine told me, told my office, that he was seen on Red Hill lookout at 8.30 with, I believe it was, Mike Castle—it is in my speech of May—and other emergency services people. There were people who questioned the veracity of that statement. In May the media made a mockery of the genuineness of the Liberals’ motion of no confidence against the Chief Minister.

Mr Wood: Where’s the photograph?

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Wood! I would hate to see you miss the most exciting part of the day.

MRS CROSS: Mr Speaker, as I said in my speech in May—and I will say it again—the person who contacted my office back in May asking me not to support the Liberal’s

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