Page 1406 - Week 04 - Thursday, 12 April 2018
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inquiries. So thank you, Ms Le Couteur, for helping make my motion a little more acceptable.
We all know that from time to time in this place we disagree. I think it is really great. It is robust. It means that the people of the ACT and the Canberra community have the opportunity to lay faith in their elected representatives. We can stand in this place and we can have vigorous debate because we honestly and truly believe what we think is right.
This morning, Mr Coe stood up and was talking about all sorts of things not entirely related to my motion. However, one thing I would like to question, query or comment on is that Mr Coe seemed extremely proud that he had possibly done something not quite right. He was very proud to stand up and accept everything he had done, accept how the letter was worded. I hold grave concerns about Mr Coe being quite so proud. However, I will be glad to hope that we all sit here and support Ms Le Couteur’s amendment as amended so that we can set up a privileges committee, so that we can look into what has happened here in this particular instance.
Labor supports committee inquiries into every part of government. That is not in question here. However, the Assembly should have zero tolerance for attempted interference in our systems. We should not allow any sort of interference in our committee processes. My concerns are that the letter that was posted out, mailboxed out or letterboxed out to some residents across the ACT may have misled members of the community.
I thank everyone for their work. I particularly thank my colleagues on the crossbench for working to ensure that the PAC committee can continue doing its inquiry into land rates. I think it is a very important piece of work. I look forward to the outcome of this motion and the hope that we form a select committee of privileges to look at some of the matters that I have raised in both my motion and the amended motion, and areas which I brought up in my speech yesterday.
Ms Le Couteur’s amendment, as amended, agreed to.
Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.
Adjournment
Motion (by Mr Gentleman) proposed:
That the Assembly do now adjourn.
Australian National University—bullying
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development and Minister for Tourism and Major Events) (4.28): I rise briefly in the adjournment debate today to welcome what I believe to be a very considered and powerful statement today from the ANU’s Vice-Chancellor, Brian Schmidt, responding to reports on the ABC around homophobic bullying by a member of the
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