Page 2762 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 23 June 2009
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The Committee recommends that the Chief Minister, Mr Jon Stanhope MLA, write again to the builders involved in the OwnPlace scheme—those with whom he had previously corresponded and misrepresented the Committee—and that the Chief Minister correct the record.
The committee found that the Chief Minister had, in effect, deliberately misrepresented what I had said for his own political gain. This is a person and from a party that like to accuse the opposition of having a go at public servants. We have the utmost respect for public servants, because dealing with this ministry I think would be pretty hard and I think public servants do a pretty good job. I think some of the directions that come from the Chief Minister’s office with regard to advertising or letters to the editor, or whatever it may, be would be pretty hard to comply with, so I have got the utmost respect for the professionalism of the public service.
The Chief Minister’s accusing us of doing things was, in effect, nothing more than the Chief Minister trying to score political points on the back of situations that simply do not exist. The committee found, very clearly—a committee that involved the Greens and the Liberal Party and, of course, the Labor Party—that the allegations that the Chief Minister made were false. It is very important that this place do note what actually happened, as opposed to the spin that Mr Stanhope is trying to put out there.
I am sure this is all part of some plot by the government to try and rattle us, either individually or collectively; to try and make us think twice before we criticise the government—the same way as the Chief Minister is having a go at the Auditor-General; the exact same way he is having a go at the Auditor-General—because we are bringing the government to account. The Auditor-General brings the government to account from a different angle, but both have a go at the government when there is something to actually be raised. Yet, as soon as we do that, as soon as we do the job that we were elected to do or the Auditor-General was appointed to do, the government cries foul. It is just not acceptable in this system of government.
So, in conclusion, I draw recommendations 34 and 35 to the attention of those interested in this matter so that the correct representation of what actually happened in the estimates committee is understood.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for Disability and Housing, Minister for Ageing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Corrections) (8.38): I may take the second 10 minutes, but I will not take that long. I just want to address a couple of little things that Mr Coe said. He has got this conspiracy theory running rampant through his veins around the plot by the government against the Liberals. It is unfortunate, and I have to let Mr Coe know that there is no plot afoot.
The reason why there is no plot against the Liberals by the government is that the government considers them irrelevant and does not want to waste any time on plotting. We do not need to plot against the Liberal Party. They do that well enough all by themselves. They are just so good at it. I just wanted to let Mr Coe know, so that he can sleep easily, that there is no gunpowder plot on this side of the house trying to
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