Page 778 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009
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community for that. At any stage the attorney could have raised that with me to point out that that was not the case. But he did not. However, if it is the case, I do apologise to the community and I withdraw.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services): I thank Mrs Dunne for her correction. I did correct the record yesterday and did apologise for the error in my statement and I am simply asking Mrs Dunne to do the same. I am grateful that, after a prolonged attempt at trying to divert, she has done so.
I would also simply make the point that I did invite Mrs Dunne to do so in a conversation with her earlier today. She declined to give me an indication as to what she would do.
Mrs Dunne: You did not. That is a lie, Simon. That is an absolute lie.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne!
MR CORBELL: I ask Mrs Dunne to withdraw that assertion.
Mrs Dunne: I withdraw the comment, but I do seek leave to make a statement. I do not want to have to do it tit for tat over here.
MR CORBELL: You started it.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra): I seek leave to make a statement in response to the outrageous accusation by the Attorney-General.
Leave granted.
MRS DUNNE: I had a conversation with the Attorney-General over the lunch break in which I asked him to come in here and correct the record in relation to the comments that he made in relation to the new standing order 213A. He did object, but I am glad to see that, after reflecting on it, he did come and do the right thing.
In the course of the conversation he said to me, “If the Liberal Party is going to take this nitpicking”—I think “nitpicking”—“approach to these matters we will be going through your speeches and demanding you correct matters of fact.” I said to him, “Simon, if you can find an occasion when I have made a mistake, and you can demonstrate it to me, I will withdraw.” He did not at any stage say to me, “Vicki, what you said the other day about charges being laid was incorrect.” He did not say that. He did not say that I had used incorrect information and invite me to withdraw.
We had a general conversation which really amounted to a threat on his part. But there was not an invitation to me to correct a particular piece of information and, therefore, the accusation that the minister made is, unfortunately, untrue.
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