Page 4010 - Week 09 - Thursday, 26 August 2010
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There are only two ways to do it. There is the easy way, as Ms Gallagher showed, as Mr Smyth has pointed out. She came back; she corrected; she apologised. Mr Smyth did not move a censure. There was no need to, because she corrected. Ms Burch had days, and now she is saying, “Well, I only knew about this at quarter to 10.” Well, no. She knew about it—everyone knew about it—at least two days ago in this place. She probably knew about it before then. If Mr Coe had done nothing, once this was brought to her attention she should have come here and corrected.
The Greens again hide behind process when the process has been followed to a T. Mr Coe was not going to circulate a censure motion when he was waiting for Ms Burch to come down at 10 o’clock and correct the record.
Mr Smyth: He hadn’t even written it.
Ms Bresnan: He did not let her come down and correct it.
MR SESELJA: He did not let her come down?
Ms Bresnan: That is what you just said.
MR SESELJA: We have the—
Mr Coe: We were stopping her in the stairwell!
Ms Bresnan: That is what you just said.
MR SESELJA: We have the interjection from the Greens again. Two days ago it was on the record in this place. Did everyone miss it? If it is in the Assembly, did it happen? Is that the position of the Greens and the Labor Party—that they missed it?
Mr Hargreaves: I missed it.
Mr Smyth: No; actually, John, you did not. You said—
MR SESELJA: They missed it.
Mr Hargreaves: I missed what he was doing.
MR SESELJA: They missed it, Mr Speaker. You cannot say that you did not get notice when you were told days ago and when the whole Assembly had it brought to their attention two days ago. At 4.30 yesterday afternoon, Ms Burch was again asked to come down and correct the record. Mr Coe has been through the right process repeatedly.
It is unfortunate that the Labor Party do not see it as being important enough to actually go out of their way and correct the record. We know that some ministers do from time to time, but this minister has shown that she will not unless she is forced to. Ms Bresnan acknowledged that in her speech—that she has been forced to. But given that Mr Coe has followed what can only be described as an exhaustive process to try
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