Page 2864 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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MS HUNTER: No, this is about, once again, saying to the government, “We want you to put it on the table.” What will happen out of this motion, if it gets up, is that it will go back through the independent arbiter process. You know that; I know that. And what we do need to do—and I would hope you would join me—is urge the government to release that report. It will go back through the independent arbiter process, which we have set up through this Assembly. That is what we set up. It is a step forward in how we deal with disputed documents. It has been an improvement in this Assembly. We have been through this before.
As I said today, we do believe that that process does need to be looked at before other papers go there. But a decision was made by Sir Laurence Street, and the Greens will stick by that position. Therefore we will not be supporting this motion today.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (4.56): What we heard there was the video version of the job application from Ms Hunter so that she can permanently and legitimately occupy the ministerial suite on the top floor. What we have had is the flip-flop of the century—at least of this Assembly. All through the Assembly the Greens have been on here about openness, accountability, Latimer House, FOI reform and new processes for dealing with these issues. The process that the Greens put in place in standing order 213A was a process that they took out of the New South Wales upper house. It is a reasonable process up to a point, but the New South Wales upper house does not hold any government to account. The New South Wales upper house is that—an upper house, not a place where government is formed. This is a place where government is formed. I am not entirely sure—the only rung that this mechanism had did not work out well for the people of the ACT, because this material is still not available.
It is really rich to listen to Ms Hunter here today saying that every dog has its day, every motion has its day and “we have got to the end of our rope on this motion”. It is not convenient for Ms Hunter any more to press the issue. The Greens can see the trophy at the end of the tunnel. There is still a bit of a dispute as to who gets the trophy, but the trophy is that vacant ministerial position. Suddenly they are prepared to compromise themselves over all of these things.
The things that were important—the things that they set up, the accountability mechanisms—have just gone out the door. This member would rather be a minister than represent the people of the ACT. And because she would rather be a minister than represent the people of the ACT, she is prepared to bow to the will of the current Chief Minister, the person who will make a decision about whether there is a fifth ministry and who occupies that spot.
This is the tenor of Ms Hunter’s speech here today. We have stopped looking after the people of the ACT, and it has become an issue of self-interest. “Can I get the ministerial salary that goes with the ministerial suite?” “I have got the ministerial suite; I just need the salary to go with it.” Ms Hunter has wanted an increase in salary since about the first month she was in this place, and we are now making a bid for that.
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