Page 4065 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 13 December 2006
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Mrs Burke: I was there.
MR HARGREAVES: In the same way as he was not there when the results of the examination of the realities of the EpiCentre were actually revealed. He was only just here this morning. Talking about the Griffith library, an interesting thing about the people opposite is that they will cherry pick half of a sentence—
Mrs Burke: Oh, yes!
MR HARGREAVES: The sotto voce interjections from Mrs Burke do not assist me in responding to the question. If Mr Seselja had been fed accurate information by his colleagues about what I had actually said, he would have been prevented from making a fool of himself. What I actually did was invite all of the people who were Griffith library customers to come and look at the new Civic library and said that we would assist people in doing that, in coming and looking at the new Civic library. Mr Seselja sits there with a smirk on his face—the smirk of a man who was not there. He was not there. He was absent. He was the missing member.
Mrs Burke: You are splitting hairs.
MR HARGREAVES: Mrs Burke was there. She ought to know the truth of this thing, but does not have the courage to say so. Mr Pratt was there. I have noticed that he sits there silently because he knows that what I have told this Assembly is exactly the way it was.
Mr Pratt: No; I just feel like being quiet for a change.
MR HARGREAVES: That is something we are not used to, Mr Pratt.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Hargreaves, direct your comments through me and respond to the question. Members of the opposition will cease interjecting.
MR HARGREAVES: We were all surprised by Mr Pratt’s silence, Mr Speaker.
Mr Pratt: There are more surprises to come.
MR HARGREAVES: You have just fixed it!
Mr Speaker, when I was talking at the Griffith library premises I was trying to extol the virtues of the new Civic library. I had had the privilege of going over that library before it was opened and thought that it was a wonderful thing, and indeed it was, so I extended an invitation to those present to come and look at it before the official opening. I said at that time that if anybody had difficulty in doing so, we would assist in the process—that we would put on transport to enable them to go to the Civic library and look at it. What we are seeing here is selective use. I am hoping that Mr Seselja has been sold a pup by his colleagues, that he was given only half of the story by his colleagues, and that he has not done it himself, because I hold Mr Seselja in a lot more esteem than that question deserves.
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