Page 850 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 16 March 2010
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We have seen the shifting defence from Simon Corbell. We have seen the shifting defence even today. Even on the radio today, he was misleading. He was not telling the truth. He said, “Look, Ross, in relation to my answer to the Assembly, Ross, the question was couched in terms of documents relating to the administration of the scheme; well, we do not administer the scheme.” What was the question? “Any and all documents relating to the scheme.” What he told Ross Solly, what he told the community again today, was wrong. It was a lie; it was not true.
It gives you a sense of how much this minister has dug himself in with his misleads that the defence shifts every day and that when he has the opportunity again to defend himself on the radio today, he says something that simply is not true. That is the only way. He assumed that he could just tell the community whatever because they are not going to go and read the Hansard and they are not going to know that what he is saying is untrue. We have read the Hansard, and what he said again on radio today was untrue. What he said several times in the Assembly was wrong. It was clearly wrong. It was not just a little bit wrong; it was way wrong. No documents to hundreds of documents. Then the defence is: “It is only some emails from staff.” Actually, it is a letter that he received—that he signed and received. It is a briefing that he received.
This is a minister who has been dishonest in this place. This is a minister who has not told the truth. He has had opportunities to correct it. He compounded this mislead. And this government—this Labor Party and this Greens party—defends this behaviour to the hilt. They say, “Oh well, you know, it was the vibe; it was the context”.
This is crystal clear. This minister misled. He has done it before; he has form in this place. We have had to bring him here in the past. In the past he has had motions against him of persistently and wilfully misleading the Assembly as a minister. He has done it again. The only reason that this motion is not going to pass is that the Greens and the Labor Party have done a deal. The Greens and the Labor Party see that it is more important to keep their dysfunctional alliance going than it is to hold the minister to account, to ensure that ministers tell the truth in this place, to ensure that ministers tell the truth to the community.
You can always tell from the case put up by the defence just how much they believe it and how strong it is. Jon Stanhope’s comments were that he could not be bothered—code for “I can’t defend this minister. I can’t talk about any of the substance because the minister has so clearly misled the Assembly”.
Madam Assistant Speaker, this minister deserves to be condemned by this Assembly; he deserves to be censured by this Assembly. He has misled the Assembly; he has misled the community. He should be condemned and held to account for those actions.
Question put:
That Mr Seselja’s motion be agreed to.
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