Page 2832 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 August 2008

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Ms Gallagher: Could I just have some advice? The question is that standing orders be suspended. We should not be debating a potential motion that Dr Foskey may move around the release of the functional review.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have already ruled on this. You are taking the same line of questioning that Mr Gentleman did.

Ms Gallagher: That is the question.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: I have ruled on that point of order. There is no point of order. I call Mrs Dunne.

MRS DUNNE: The reason why we have to suspend standing orders and have this debate now is that, quite frankly, the Chief Minister thinks that he is above the operations of this Assembly and the operations of the committees of this Assembly, which have the power to call for documents. He has ignored those powers although, as Mr Smyth has said, he endorsed the conferring of those powers. It is a selective use of the powers by the Chief Minister. He is in favour of them so long as they do not get in his way. He is in favour of them so long as they are not inconvenient to him. This is why we need to suspend standing orders. We need to have the debate.

The people of the ACT, the people who pay the Chief Minister’s salary, need to be able to see the basis for the decisions that were made to cut out sports grants, to close a huge number of schools. It was proposed to close 39 schools and 23 schools finally closed. We need to be able to see the basis for the decisions to make changes to the Emergency Services Authority, the changes to advisory organisations. We have to get to the bottom of why they did this. The committee needs to get to the bottom of it and it is time that the Chief Minister came clean with the people of the ACT.

Motion (by Mr Gentleman) agreed to:

That the question be now put.

Question put:

That the standing orders be suspended.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 7

Noes 8

Mrs Burke

Mr Pratt

Mr Barr

Mr Gentleman

Mrs Dunne

Mr Seselja

Mr Berry

Mr Hargreaves

Dr Foskey

Mr Smyth

Mr Corbell

Ms Porter

Mr Mulcahy

Ms Gallagher

Mr Stanhope

Question so resolved in the negative.

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