Page 498 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 10 February 2009
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it. I take the point that Ms Bresnan is making, except to say that this place is a little bit different to other places, and the behaviour of those opposite over all the years I have been here is testament to that. You cannot stop those folks across there from actually naming people in the media and saying that they are guilty of X, Y and Z, and they also do it in here under privilege. They have done this with child protection and they have done this with my housing officers repeatedly, and yet they stand up here sanctimoniously and say this behaviour is of serious concern. Mr Speaker, I suggest that each one of these folks who were here before—I exclude the three new members—examine whether they are not guilty of the very same things of which they are accusing the Attorney-General.
Mr Speaker, we have an issue that has hit the media. The Attorney-General had two hats on—one was the Attorney-General’s and the other was mine when he was acting on my behalf whilst I was overseas. It is convenient for Mrs Dunne to draw the target that she wants. I think her hypocrisy should be told to the world, and we should recognise it and rule this motion out of order.
MR HANSON (Molonglo) (3.39): I must say that I am personally disappointed to be standing here to speak on this motion of serious concern against a government minister, but I do believe that Mr Corbell’s actions have left little alternative. I believe that it goes further than the issues that were raised by Ms Bresnan: I think it goes to issues of ministerial accountability and indeed ministerial competence. That is why it is an issue of such serious concern to this Assembly.
This is following a series of ongoing failures and embarrassment for the government and for the Attorney-General in his previous role looking after corrections and then as the acting minister in the corrections portfolio, making these assertions and comments, as discussed by Mrs Dunne, in the media. My concern is that this was done to deflect criticism from himself and his government in the media. He has deliberately passed judgement on a matter before the courts in order to protect himself.
If this had been a simple mistake or an act of naivety by a new member or a junior member, maybe it would have been excusable and he would have apologised through the media, in the Assembly or in writing. But he has failed to do so. That suggests very strongly to me that the minister was reckless and, as an experienced minister and as the Attorney-General, fully understood the consequence of his actions and exactly what he was doing.
I want to outline the litany of failures that led the minister to the point where he felt it necessary to divert criticism in the media from himself and his government, to try and distract from the issue and find people guilty before they had gone before the courts, as he did. It is a matter of providing context for what is a very serious matter of concern going to accountability and competence.
It is not a trivial matter. It goes against the Attorney-General of the territory, who often lectures the community on matters of human rights. It is extraordinary that he would seek to make these comments in this manner to deflect criticism and look after his own pride, at the expense of others. I can understand his embarrassment, however. Prior to making the remarks that he did, it is clear that the government, he himself and other ministers, in particular the minister for corrections, had been suffering from severe embarrassment through their mishandling of the corrections portfolio.
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