Page 853 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 20 March 2012
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by this Assembly, the only minister whom the Greens deemed worthy of censure, and I think it took 24 breaches of the law under her watch before the Greens would actually support a censure.
The Greens are now saying they will hold this minister somewhat to account. They will give him a slap. I think the fact that the Greens set the bar so high for censures of members of the government shows that in this case even the Greens cannot defend what Minister Barr is doing. They are doing their best to try and downplay it a little bit, but even the Greens, even the coalition partners, recognise that this is a contemptuous attitude to the law, it is a contemptuous attitude to the Assembly, and that is why they are now going to take some action to actually express concern in relation to the performance of Mr Barr.
But it seems that it would take another 23 breaches of the law before it would be worthy of censure. I note the difference in approach to members of the opposition. I note that Mr Smyth was subjected to a censure for the vibe of a press release, for a headline in a press release that the Labor Party did not like. But this minister has breached the law. He has done it deliberately. He has done it not by a little bit but by a lot and he should be held to account and he should be censured by this Assembly.
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella) (10.38): It seems that the Leader of the Opposition was not listening to Ms Le Couteur. Ms Le Couteur was saying that there is a threshold above which you have to get before a censure motion has to apply, and by extension another—
Opposition members interjecting—
MR HARGREAVES: The mumblings of the Leader of the Opposition and Mrs Dunne will not affect me whatsoever. What they have to say is of absolutely no import to me whatsoever. By extension, there is a further threshold for a no-confidence motion to be brought.
The Treasurer came forward and told us about some of the effects which caused a delay and which were beyond his control. If in fact this chamber could have been advised of those effects, that is another issue. But I hardly think that that sort of thing warrants a censure, quite frankly.
The minister has stood in this place and apologised. I am still waiting to hear the same thing from the Leader of the Opposition. I do not think we ever will, but I am still waiting to hear it, regarding some of the issues that he has portrayed in this matter.
Mrs Dunne: Relevance, Mr Speaker.
MR HARGREAVES: Mrs Dunne sits there pontificating, as usual. On more than one occasion in his speech the minister stood in this place and apologised. As a member of the committee that is affected by that delay, I am prepared to accept that apology and, by Ms Le Couteur’s amendment to reduce this from a censure to a motion of grave concern, I believe that she too is saying that she is accepting that apology. This is a committee of three. We have had two people suggest that we still need to express our
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