Page 118 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 24 May 1989
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remind Mr Kaine, the Leader of the Liberal Party in this place, that when we undertook to represent the people of the ACT in this place we undertook a certain responsibility to ensure that the people of the ACT knew full well what our commitments were and what our commitments were not.
I am just suggesting, Mr Speaker, that it is important that we in public life be prepared to accept the good with the bad in relation to this matter and that provided, as Mr Kaine has already said, that appropriate arrangements are made to ensure that vexatious claims are not made on the members this information can be made available appropriately.
MR WOOD (3.21): Mr Speaker, I support this concept. I think it is important that we state our background and that it be available to people. I have had some sort of experience in a particular sense in this regard. Many years ago in another election campaign, when issues such as this were topical, I expressed in the media my assets. I guess there was a political motive there, too, because I thought that other candidates should have done the same.
I have to tell you that it did me no good at all in any way, and in fact it brought me a great deal of discomfort through the abuse that came to me as a result. I ask the Chief Minister to respond to a question about any person having access to this information. Do we therefore expect that, at the end of that 28-day period, across the pages of the local newspaper we could have a list of the 17 members of this Assembly and their comparative assets?
MR SPEAKER: Would the Chief Minister like to reply to that at all?
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister) (3.23): As the motion has been amended now by Mr Kaine it is now subject to each member concerned being advised by the person who has been asking for the information why it has been requested. I think it is entirely possible that all 17 members could see their statements of pecuniary interests appearing in the media, being written across pages of the "Canberra Times". I, myself, have absolutely no objection to that. In a city such as Canberra, where people are naturally cynical about politicians, such statements would give them some reassurance, I believe, as to the integrity of the people whom they have elected. I have no objection to any detail of my financial interests being made public; it is rather a dull little story, I am afraid. But I do not see why that should not be the case; people have a right to know who they have elected and what those persons' interests are, so I have no objection to that. I understand, from the motion, and even with the amendment, that it is possible.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
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