Page 1064 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020
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Ms Lawder was suspended at 11.33 am for three sitting hours in accordance with standing order 204, and she withdrew from the chamber.
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (11.33): I also note the conclusion of an incredibly complex and lengthy process, made no easier in that we were inquiring into decisions and behaviours of close to a decade ago and that the lack of record keeping, a problem in and of itself, meant we have had to sift through complex verbal evidence.
Like Ms Cody, I would not have agreed to the first draft of this report, but I want to put on the record how much I have appreciated—as I always have when working with Mrs Dunne on committees—her willingness to discuss evidence; to look at things with fresh eyes; to consider phrasing and the meaning of words and to consider whether we might need to have more evidence reflected.
There has been a genuine, good faith effort by all committee members to attempt to reach consensus. That has been led by the chair because she set the tone for that, and I really want to thank her. We have worked together very well, as we commonly do when we are doing committees together.
The vast majority of the report is agreed, and I think the comments of Mrs Dunne and Ms Lawder today have distracted from that. It is long and it is complex. There are 632 footnotes and more than 200 pages to this report. Every time I have looked at it with fresh eyes there has been something new to consider or something that has sat differently with me. I do not just think every single member of the committee has been through that same process—I know they have.
As recently as late last week we were requesting documents, new documents, as a committee. The minutes throughout this entire process reflect that for every member of the committee, and to single out members or to single out one meeting is unfair and not reflective of the broader, good faith approach that has been applied throughout.
Reflecting on one meeting is disproportionate and undermines the incredible effort of the report as a whole. In particular, Ms Lawder reflecting on the character of members undermines the report and genuinely undermines Mrs Dunne’s efforts as chair. I hope Ms Lawder reflects on how her behaviour today has distracted from the good work that forms the majority of this report.
I thank the committee for the approach which, while tedious, has also been, for the most part, collaborative and open. This is especially so given that all the deliberations on this report have been completed via teleconference or videoconference. I think that is a first in the history of this Assembly—if the interim report had not beaten us to it. We have worked through it over many hours, and the minutes reflect that. I genuinely believe it is a credit to the committee that we have a report of 205 pages that is agreed by all members with just a handful of areas where Ms Cody and I have dissented. This has been an enormous amount of work, and I thank Dr Lloyd for his many drafts and good nature as we worked through the deliberations.
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