Page 3322 - Week 10 - Thursday, 19 October 2006

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Mr Smyth: Not true.

MR STANHOPE: We inherited a wreck from you. We have enhanced professionalism. We have improved training. We have upgraded equipment across the board. We have established a state-of-the-art communications system. We are establishing a headquarters.

We now have a truly professional, well-equipped, professional emergency services authority and service. Your constant attempts to undermine the relationship between the emergency services authority and this government, and between the emergency services authority and the community, is reprehensible.

Mr Smyth: No. There is no authority.

MR SPEAKER: I name you, Mr Smyth.

Motion (by Mr Corbell) put:

That Mr Smyth be suspended from the service of the Assembly.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 8

Noes 6

Mr Barr

Mr Gentleman

Mrs Dunne

Mr Smyth

Mr Berry

Mr Hargreaves

Mr Mulcahy

Mr Stefaniak

Mr Corbell

Ms Porter

Mr Pratt

Ms Gallagher

Mr Stanhope

Mr Seselja

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Mr Smyth was therefore suspended at 3.55 pm for three sitting hours in accordance with standing order 204, and he accordingly withdrew from the chamber.

MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra—Leader of the Opposition) (3.55): In speaking to this motion, Mr Pratt listed a litany of failures of this minister at a time when we are entering the bushfire season, at a time, I would have thought that the minister would have wanted to ensure that we were, as he said in his proud but unsubstantiated boast, light years ahead, because, in spite of the complacency of previous governments going right back to the Hawke government and maybe the Fraser government before that in terms of bushfire preparedness, we have had two horrible wake-up calls.

We had the events of December 2001, which should have been a wake-up call to this government to take certain action, which it did not take, and, of course, we had the tragic bushfires of January 2003, which we have not heard the last of, as there is still a coronial report to come down on that. I think that that will be very interesting indeed. We have also had the McLeod report, much of which has not been actioned by this government. You would think that, if anything, the January 2003 fires would have ensured that the bugs would be ironed out. This government, which trumpets that it has spent 46 per cent

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