Page 1918 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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servants have also inappropriately dealt with an FOI application, needs to be proven. I await every single other one of you standing up and proving those allegations today. That is the challenge that you now have, from the silly speeches that all three of you have given.
This has been, and is, a waste of the Assembly’s time, but it has given us the opportunity to put the facts on the table, because they are not Mr Seselja’s facts; they are the true facts.
Mr Smyth: Lay down the documents.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, cease interjecting.
MS GALLAGHER: There are two series of facts here—the Seselja facts, which are convenient for the Liberals’ argument, and there are the real facts, the ones that can’t be played with or misconstrued. I table the following paper:
Proposed gas fired power station and data centre—Copy of Brief to the Chief Minister from Pam Davoren, Acting Chief Executive, CMD, dated July 2007.
This is the letter that the Liberals say they do not have, when we can see from the documents tabled today that they do have it. It clearly sets out the Chief Minister’s involvement in and understanding of issues as of 19 July this year.
Mr Speaker, there is a long way to go on this project. If it comes off, it will be a wonderful result for the ACT, but it will only come off if all the required standards, tests and analysis of reports go through the planning process and meet those standards. That is what the government said at every stage. Yes, we are excited about this project, but there is a process underway, and that process involves community consultation and an independent statutory planning process, and that is what is underway now. The government should remain at arm’s length from that, and not do what Mr Pratt suggested, which is to get involved and give it the tick or flick before those processes are completed. That is what needs to occur now.
Mr Pratt: You kept the community in the dark about this.
MS GALLAGHER: Community consultation is an important part of the planning process. It is there so that this community gets involved and concerns are raised. They can be either responded to or, if they cannot, they are taken into consideration through that planning process. But that should not be determined by me; that should not be determined by you, Mr Pratt. We are politicians. We are not here to take that role on.
The issues that we are here to discuss today are four elements of a motion of no confidence in the Chief Minister. None of those elements have been supported in any way by any evidence provided by the opposition today.
Mr Pratt: Do you understand the concept of prior community consultation?
MR SPEAKER: I warn you, Mr Pratt.
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