Page 227 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 10 February 2010
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Ms Hunter: I would ask Mrs Dunne to withdraw the statement she just made about a meeting that never took place. It is just untrue.
MR SPEAKER: I am sorry, Ms Hunter, I was being distracted. Can you repeat your point of order?
Ms Hunter: It is a point of order that Mrs Dunne has just made a statement about a meeting that did not happen. She has put that on the record. I would like her to correct the record.
MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne?
MRS DUNNE: On the point of order, I can be asked to withdraw things if they are unparliamentary or disorderly. I repeated an assertion that was made to me. Ms Hunter can stand up and correct the record. I will give her leave if she wishes to, but the point of order does not stand. I have not said anything which is disorderly.
MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order, Ms Hunter. If you wish to put that on the record later on, you can make a personal explanation under standing order 46.
Ms Hunter: Thank you, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne, the clock will start again now.
MRS DUNNE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. The situation we have today is that Ms Hunter has sold out the people of her electorate. She gave a speech about the importance of childcare and for the first 10 minutes or so she was getting about 7½ or eight out of 10 for a reasonable understanding of what is going on in the childcare centre. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty, she fails. She has rolled over. Why? This is the Labor Party. These are the people who said that they would sit on the crossbench and provide third-party insurance, that they would make sure things were done right and were done fairly. I tell you here today, Mr Speaker, that the Greens have sold out my constituents. I say to the people at Gumnut Place in Evatt that, if they thought they had third-party insurance, the policy has just gone bust.
We will not be supporting the amendment before us today. I will do my utmost to ensure that when this passes phrases like “providing clarity” and “continuing to investigate” result in bricks and mortar for Gumnut Place and that those bricks and mortar are found very soon. If they do not, this childcare centre will wither on the vine. It will wither on the vine because Ms Burch and Ms Hunter collaborated together to ensure that that happened.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (5.38): I will be supporting Ms Burch’s amendment; I will not be supporting Mrs Dunne’s motion, which I am sure is no surprise to Mrs Dunne. In relation to the specific matter that Mrs Dunne has referred to—that is, the Gumnut centre—Ms Burch has explained that initiatives and discussions and assistance are being provided by the department, working closely with Gumnut, to explore alternatives and suitable locations. I am confident from my discussions with
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