Page 444 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 23 February 2010
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the purposes of this privileges inquiry it is entirely appropriate in the context of that debate that Mr Stanhope make those assertions.
Mrs Dunne: It hasn’t been circulated; it hasn’t been moved.
Mr Seselja: It hasn’t been moved.
Mr Corbell: It doesn’t matter; it’s going to be.
Mrs Dunne: Where’s the amendment?
MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, as your amendment has not yet been circulated, we will have to ask you to wait until a substantive—
MR STANHOPE: I will withdraw until Mr Corbell’s amendment actually has been tabled. It has not yet been printed by your office, Mr Speaker, for circulation, and I will look forward, when it is circulated, to saying what I did say but which I have now just withdrawn. At that time, after the amendment is formally circulated, we will make the point which Mr Sullivan makes in his letter—that is, Mrs Dunne has misled the committee, misled the Assembly, and grievously misled the people of Canberra, and, in so doing, she has traduced the reputation of a very senior official. It requires her now to actually put up or shut up, to do as she expects of others—
Mr Seselja: Mr Speaker, on a point of order, you have just asked the Chief Minister to withdraw the assertion. Until he has got a substantive motion, he should withdraw the assertion and not keep repeating it.
MR SPEAKER: I heard Mr Stanhope skate the thin line of saying that he was repeating it.
MR STANHOPE: I did withdraw—
MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, I am ruling on this; you can resume your seat, thank you.
MR STANHOPE: I beg your pardon. I was agreeing with you, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope was skating on a thin line, but he was referring to comments Mr Sullivan made, not making his own comments, as I heard the debate.
MR STANHOPE: I was.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope.
MR STANHOPE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I will conclude on this point: it is a classic case; it is a cheap, nasty political stunt by Mrs Dunne and the Liberal Party; it is a stunt where the reputations of good people are fair game. An ex-secretary of a commonwealth department of state, now the chief executive of the Actew corporation, is fair game. You can bring down anybody you want if you think there is a headline in it for you. Issues around integrity, issues around the responsibility of elected members
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