Page 1115 - Week 03 - Thursday, 22 March 2012
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MR SPEAKER: Thank you. Mr Corbell.
MR CORBELL: Of course, we are in this situation because the Liberals have refused leave for the Chief Minister to move such a motion. The question has to be asked: why? Why are they not prepared to have a motion requiring them to table these documents that they are referring to in question time moved forthwith? You would have thought that in question time they would come down ready to go and that they would actually have a copy of the document—the document that they are asking these so-called pressing questions about. You would have thought they could have just stood up and said, “Here it is.”
Opposition members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! One moment, Mr Corbell. Stop the clocks. Members of the opposition, I note that you declined to take an opportunity to speak when you had your turn briefly before Mr Corbell. You will have a chance again in a moment. I do not expect you to keep interjecting while Mr Corbell is speaking.
MR CORBELL: Instead, Mr Speaker, we get this banal suggestion that it is in a freedom of information request. I am sure the opposition appreciate that there are many tens of thousands of emails that circulate through the government every day, yet apparently we are meant to know about the nature of this particular email somehow magically, somehow through some sort of third sense, Mr Speaker.
Why are they not prepared to table it? Why are they not prepared just to say, “This is the document we are referring to,” to allow the Chief Minister to give a comprehensive answer and a considered answer to the questions they are raising? It really does cast a lot of doubt on the credibility of their line of questioning. Then they block an attempt to move a motion to require them to table that document.
We heard all the pontificating the other day when Mr Smyth moved the motion requiring the minister for education to table a particular document. We heard all the pontificating from them then but they are not prepared to be held to the same standard in this place.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (2.13): I am happy to table the email. I just would note that in Mr Corbell’s contribution he said that it was terrible because they are pushing us to table the document. And what were they doing? They were refusing until they saw the writing on the wall in terms of which way the numbers were going to go. So I am happy to table the document.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! One moment, thank you. First off, Mr Seselja needs leave to table his documents. Is leave granted?
Leave granted.
MR SPEAKER: I thought it might be.
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