Page 616 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 24 February 2010
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statement. Mr Speaker, I seek leave of you to respond for a period of not more than five minutes to the Chief Minister’s ministerial statement.
Leave granted.
MR HANSON: Turning first to the points about random breath testing that were made in the form of a ministerial statement with respect to the question, I will just make the point that this government has presided over the worst drink driving statistics in the history of the ACT. What we are seeing now are rates of positive random breath tests which are increasing year by year. We, the community—and everybody—have been calling for action to occur. There have been numerous discussion papers, including, actually, a very good one released by the Chief Minister’s Department in 2008. There has been broad discussion.
Every time results come out that are so damning for this government, what we see is: “Here are some ideas. Let’s discuss them and let’s send them to a roundtable.” And that is all we have seen today. We have seen no action; we have seen no decision; we have simply seen some ideas that have already been mooted before and passed to a roundtable.
With regard to random drug testing, the Chief Minister’s statement and his garbage that he spoke before are untrue. The legislation—
Mr Stanhope: A point of order, Mr Speaker.
MR HANSON: Stop the clock, please.
MR SPEAKER: Yes, stop the clock.
Mr Stanhope: That was actually an allegation, an aspersion, that was unparliamentary, the suggestion that I was not telling the truth, and I ask that Mr Hanson withdraw the allegation.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Hanson, I invite you to withdraw the unparliamentary language and make your point nonetheless.
MR HANSON: Mr Speaker, on the point of order, the fact is that the things that Mr Stanhope said were not true and I am about to outline, in black and white, in legislation that has been tabled in this Assembly, that what he said was not true.
Mr Seselja: It becomes ridiculous if we can’t. How do you disagree with someone?
MR SPEAKER: Do you want to have a say, Mr Seselja, or do you just want to backchat?
Mr Seselja: Sorry?
MR SPEAKER: Do you want to actually speak—
Mr Seselja: I am happy to add to the point of order, Mr Speaker.
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