Page 4343 - Week 10 - Thursday, 22 September 2011
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He is telling the committee what it has to do. Mr Speaker, by his own petard he hoists himself. He challenged this side of the house to quote from his press release. It is done. Furthermore, Mr Speaker, with his own words to you to establish the privileges committee in the first place—that high moral ground—he hangs himself.
Furthermore, and probably finally, in his defence of himself Mr Smyth said it is not okay for the executive to put out a media release to influence a committee. It is not appropriate for the Chief Minister to do it. He neglected to say that it is not proper for a non-executive member to put out a press release to interfere with a committee. Perhaps he is saying there is one rule for the executive and the Chief Minister and one rule for himself. I argue that, if that is the case, it is despicable and this censure motion should succeed.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (3.15): You can tell the Labor Party has had a bad week when they resort to these kinds of desperate measures. Let us be clear about it—that is what this is about. The Labor Party have had a shocker and they want to come in here and pull these kinds of stunts with no evidence. Mr Barr delivered a speech making one of the most serious allegations you can make in the Assembly—that is, to censure someone for misleading comments. You are effectively calling someone a liar without any evidence.
How can we have a situation where a government expect to be taken seriously when they come and use the Assembly’s time making a serious case of misleading without actually pointing to what Mr Smyth said? Mr Barr could not point to what he actually said. He did not quote from the press release. He could not point to the apparent offending comments either in the press release or in the subsequent statements. It was left to Mr Hargreaves to make a case, and I will get to him in a minute.
But they have had a bad week, Mr Speaker, and that must be the motivation for this. We have got the serious issue of a privileges committee being established into the activities of the Chief Minister. And isn’t she stinging about it? Doesn’t it sting? So this is the tit for tat: “If you’re going to set up a privileges committee, we’re going to bring a motion of censure against you.” And with no evidence—not a shred of evidence.
We have seen an inquiry into potentially breaching the law in care and protection. It has been a bad week. We have had a minister ejected for his disgraceful behaviour in defending the indefensible with the right to wag. So, today, in response to all of that, we have a censure with no substance moved by this government. How is Mr Smyth to defend a charge that has not even been laid out? How is he to defend a charge that he has misled when Mr Barr cannot point to the misleading comments?
Mr Hargreaves: I did.
MR SESELJA: I will get to you in a second, Mr Hargreaves. I will get to the case that you made on behalf of the Chief Minister in just a minute, because it was a revealing case.
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