Page 2011 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 15 June 1994
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Mr Cornwell: Why did you sack the board before the report came down?
MR BERRY: You would not want to wait, would you? If you had waited for the report you would have found it very difficult to mount a case.
Mr De Domenico: No; we had to get you out of the way before you did any more damage.
MR BERRY: "We had to get you out of the way before you did any more damage", Mr De Domenico says.
Mr De Domenico: That is right.
MR BERRY: Is that a new and different reason from the one that you put before?
Mr De Domenico: No.
MR BERRY: The one that you put before was that I had deliberately and recklessly misled, not that you had to act before I did some more damage; so we have new and different reasons coming up.
Mr De Domenico: You misled us so many times that you had to go.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MR BERRY: I think he will have to withdraw that.
MADAM SPEAKER: That is not called for, Mr De Domenico. You will have to withdraw that. You cannot impute an improper motive to a Minister or member of any kind. You will withdraw it.
Mr De Domenico: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
Mr Kaine: There is a motion of the Assembly that supports what you say. How do you withdraw a motion of the Assembly?
MADAM SPEAKER: Only once, Mr Kaine; only one misleading of the Assembly.
MR BERRY: Madam Speaker, the Liberals compiled the so-called dossier of information. No wonder they were so keen to proceed with the no-confidence motion. If they had waited their case would have been seen for what it is - rumour and innuendo. In my view, it was all a big con. As Professor Pearce makes clear, he could not and did not go to the issue of the no-confidence motion; but he did examine the case put by Mr Humphries. Mr Humphries wanted him to go to it. On the four categories of action which have historically resulted in a Minister resigning or being dismissed, what did he find? He found that there was no case.
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