Page 193 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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Although I had had some mediated discussions with Ms Dunne at a time when my concerns over Bimberi were falling on deaf ears in other places, I had not revealed my identity to her.
Mr Corbell has got this letter. Ms Hunter has got this. Ms Burch has got this. It continues:
As I have indicated to you, I have not had any further discussions with Ms Dunne following the announcement of the Bimberi inquiry. I consider the question of whether Ms Dunne or the Assembly have confidence in you as the Children and Young Persons Commissioner is a matter for you, Ms Dunne and the Assembly.”
And it goes on at length about the confidence in this:
Now that it has come to my attention (through a third party) that Ms Dunne has been made aware of my identity, I do feel it necessary to make contact with her again in order to highlight for her the importance of my identity remaining strictly confidential, and I have cc’d her into this email in order that all those involved have the same information about where I stand on this matter.
It goes on about X’s wish to participate in the inquiry. That is the chain of events that brought us to the position where, on 4 February, I wrote to the minister and I wrote in similar terms to Ms Burch as the Minister for Children and Young People and to the convenor of the Greens.
Before I did any of that, I actually contacted X through her intermediary, and she sent me a text message which I will read:
Thank you personally for the tenacity that you continue to demonstrate in this matter and thank you on behalf of the voiceless and marginalised people in our community.
That makes me proud to be a member of this place and, if this Assembly chooses to censure me, I am proud to have stood up and have a constituent in this community say that about the way I work for them. And a censure from Simon Corbell does not really measure up when your constituents tell you that you are doing the right thing.
I went public with this matter with the views of the Canberra Liberals and, as I said, I informed the minister and the Greens convenor of our position. I did not use this place to prosecute this matter. I am not hiding behind privilege and I did not use what is the cliche alert—I thought he would use it—which has been described on many occasions and here today as the cowards castle of parliament. Everything I have said in this place about this motion, everything I have brought forward today, I have already said outside this chamber. (Extension of time granted.) I thank the chamber. So the assertion that I failed to have regard for the principles of continuing resolution No 7 fall a bit flat. I said it here long after I said it out there.
I have not been irresponsible and I did not fly into print when this matter was first raised with me. I have been punctilious about providing an opportunity for the
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