Page 2446 - Week 06 - Thursday, 10 May 2012
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We are about a principle here. It is about caps on donations. That is what we are doing with this whole legislation tonight. Otherwise, it is just very blatant squabbling over money. Let us lay the foundations; let us get in place some good legislation reform; let us move forward. We will not be the only ones. We will not be the only parties into the decades ahead that will be running in elections. Let us look at the bigger picture. Let us look at the reform that we are getting through tonight.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (10.00): I want to use Mr Corbell’s words back on 29 June last year:
In conclusion, the government strongly opposes this bill. It is unnecessary, it is based on rumour and innuendo, it is poorly drafted, it has no justification in fact …
All wrong. What Mr Corbell is asking the parliament to believe tonight is that when I tabled my bill on 22 June last year no-one had any concept, idea, vision, thought, plan or scheme to transfer money from the Labor Club to another entity to fund the Labor Party—22 June. Both the head of the Labor Party and the Labor Club said they had no notion of any scheme whatever to transfer money from one entity to another. We bring the bill on a week later, the 29th, and the Chief Minister and Mr Corbell said in this place, “No idea, no knowledge, nothing going on, nothing to see here,” despite the president of the Labor Party working in their offices and members of the Labor Club board working in each of their offices.
With the passing of this bill, which was at about midday or 12.30 on the 29th, no-one in the world apparently knew that about $5 million was going to be transferred from the Labor Club to an associated entity of the Labor Club. Remember, it is all innuendo, it is all rumour—“no basis in fact, it has no justification in fact”. So somebody after lunch on 29 June 2011, and before close of business on 30 June 2011, suddenly decided, having been prompted by my bill, to go and work out a scheme to transfer $5 million from an entity associated with the Labor Club to another entity associated with the Labor Club to avoid the report of the committee. The Greens say: “Don’t worry about that. It’s about what might happen in the future.” This is scandalous and it is corruption of the highest order to say that nothing was happening, no-one knew anything about what was happening—
Mr Corbell: A point of order.
MR SPEAKER: One moment, Mr Smyth. Stop the clock, thank you.
Mr Corbell: Mr Smyth is using the term “corruption”. It is in the context of decisions he alleges have been made by either the Labor Party or the Labor Club, and therefore by association the Labor Party. It is an imputation of the gravest order, and he should not be allowed—
MR SMYTH: It is not against a member.
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