Page 2282 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 16 June 2009
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It is a perfectly reasonable letter clarifying comments that were made in a media release. There was no instruction to behave in any particular way. The letter draws issues to Mr Hanson’s attention and asks that he consider those issues, with a suggestion that he withdraw certain information. That is a completely reasonable response to a completely unreasonable media release. Let us just remember that that media release was sent out everywhere. This letter was sent from Mr Cormack to Mr Hanson.
Mr Hanson then gets angry, writes back a letter, cc’s in the Speaker and myself, and then gets further angry and writes to the entire estimates committee. This was not only published I think on your website; it was published on ABC Online, and it ran in the newspaper. Your comments were allowed to be made to anybody and everybody. Mr Cormack’s comments and response to that, raising serious concerns about the allegations you raised, were made directly to you in an extremely polite manner, seeking to address those concerns. One standard for Mr Hanson and one standard for anybody else.
Mr Stanhope: Have the defamation withdrawn.
Mr Smyth: Oh, so it is defamation. So it is actionable; it is legal.
Mr Stanhope: Absolutely actionable.
Mr Smyth: Fine.
MS GALLAGHER: I was intending to write back to Mr Hanson as well. The chief executive—
Mr Hanson: My point exactly, Jon.
Mr Stanhope: No, yours is actionable; not his. He should have just sued you, and I wouldn’t mind betting he does.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Ms Gallagher has the floor.
Mr Stanhope: I would be waiting for the letter from the lawyer after this stunt today—the fact that you are continuing the defamation.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Ms Gallagher has the floor.
MS GALLAGHER: Thank you, Mr Speaker. As we know in this place, all members of the Assembly are entitled to criticise the government of the day and they do so. They criticise policies, they criticise government departments, but the criticisms must be credible and they must be substantiated. The claims that Mr Hanson made were neither credible and nor were they substantiated. What the Assembly is saying today is that a member of this place can put anything in a media release and send it out. It does not need to be substantiated, does not need to be supported. In fact, the facts will show that it is completely unsubstantiated. A person seeking to protect their reputation
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