Page 2264 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 17 August 1993
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PAPER
MADAM SPEAKER: Members, for your information I present a report of my study trip to Brisbane which I undertook from 23 to 24 July 1993.
PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport): Madam Speaker, I seek leave to make a personal explanation pursuant to standing order 46.
MADAM SPEAKER: Proceed, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: Madam Speaker, during the course of question time the Leader of the Opposition posed an accusatory question about my relationships with Catholics. I thought it was completely uncalled for. I consider people within a whole range of religious groups to be my friends. My mum is a Catholic. The use of that sort of accusatory language in this place just lowers the tone of it. I do not consider wreckers to be amongst my friends and I would consider Mrs Carnell a wrecker; but, when it comes to grouping people in a sectarian way, I do not do that. I think it shows the breadth of the mind of Mrs Carnell if she accuses people of those sorts of likes and dislikes.
Mrs Carnell: Capitalists, employers, Liberals.
MR BERRY: Liberalism would hardly be described as a religion.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order! The Deputy Chief Minister may make only a personal explanation. Would you continue, please.
MR BERRY: I was a little sensitive about the issue because, as I said, I think it lowers the tone of the place and it was quite unnecessary. It is not the sort of language I would use; neither would anybody who had a reasonable approach to these things.
Mrs Carnell: This is not only a personal explanation.
MADAM SPEAKER: You are testing the limits of a personal explanation, Mr Berry.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, I also seek leave to make a statement under standing order 46.
MADAM SPEAKER: Okay. I caution you, as I did the Deputy Chief minister, to try to keep it to a personal explanation.
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, this morning Mr Berry was on public radio, ABC radio, and in the course of a debate concerning the mooted hospice he made the allegation that I, as Minister in the Alliance Government, had made a decision concerning the location of the Canberra hospice, namely, the Calvary Hospital site; that I had instructed or otherwise briefed independent consultants of the
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