Page 1967 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

---

We have a government that had an opportunity here—an opportunity to get it right. They got it wrong. They had a positive duty to get it right and they did not. But they also, in the negative, undermined it by pushing it in the wrong direction. That is clear. When they got caught out, they misled the community and they misled the Assembly.

The documentary evidence—the mountains of documents that we have tabled—has not been refuted. The Chief Minister bases his whole defence on this letter, which does not say what he says it says. It does not, in any way, shape or form, make true his statements that we have pointed to. It does not make them true at any stage. It does not suggest that this site was never ruled out, because it was. The documents actually show that.

We have got a mountain of documents pointing one way; we have got a government that controls all of the information. If there was a mountain of documents the other way, no doubt we would have been given them. All we have is one letter—the one letter that does not say what the Chief Minister says it says. It simply says back to the proponent what they are saying. It does not in any way refute our central claim—that we were misled by this Chief Minister over his role, we were misled over what the government took into account, and we were misled over whether or not sites were ruled out.

That is what the documents say; that is what we have based our comments on. Those are the facts. Those are broadly the facts that are accepted by every non-government member in this place. They are the facts, I believe, that are accepted by the community on this issue. We absolutely stand by our motion. We stand by our motion of no confidence; I commend it to all members of the Assembly.

Question put:

That Mr Seselja’s motion be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Question so resolved in the negative.

At 6.00 pm, in accordance with standing order 34, the motion for the adjournment of the Assembly was put and negatived.

Sitting suspended from 6.00 to 7.30 pm.

---

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .