Page 3465 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 August 2008

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MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

MR PRATT: Mr Speaker, Mrs Dunne is entitled to refer to standing order 46 to correct an erroneous statement made by Mr Hargreaves, who had, in fact, not been anywhere near the HotRot site before Mrs Dunne and I went there some years after that particular project commenced. All Mrs Dunne is doing is attempting to rectify the record. She has a right under standing order 46 to do that. Mr Corbell is wrong.

Standing order 46 explanations are not there for people to take on a one-by-one basis. If the minister says something that is entirely incorrect, as he did in this particular case, Mrs Dunne is quite entitled to stand up and correct that. If she is refused leave to do that—after we gave the minister leave to make a personal explanation—Mrs Dunne has no choice but to seek to suspend standing orders. As Mrs Dunne said, this is churlishness and arrogance on the part of this government.

MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (3.33), in reply: Again, this is about the forms of the house. Mr Corbell likes to stand with his hand in his pocket and gesture and show how much he knows about the forms of the house. But he is the principal abuser. I sought to make a statement because Mr Hargreaves pointed out that there was some inconsistency in what I had said yesterday. It is important that I correct the record at the first opportunity and now that has not been afforded to me in accordance with the forms of the house.

Mr Barr: Pick it up in the adjournment debate, Vicki.

MRS BURKE: No. The standing orders state that if there is an inconsistency or if someone has said something which is wrong, it should be corrected at the first opportunity. I am here. Mr Hargreaves has expressed a particular point of view which contradicts what I said. I sought leave to acknowledge that what I said yesterday was wrong and to congratulate the minister for eventually having someone walk across the road to look at it. It was a two-sentence statement which could have been addressed in the normal form, but Mr Corbell and Mr Hargreaves have now abused the forms of the house.

Question put:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mrs Dunne from making a statement in relation to Mr Hargreaves’ personal explanation.

The Assembly voted—

Question so resolved in the negative.

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