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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1218 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

memory is that Mrs Carnell referred to correspondence or letters between her and the Commonwealth, and it is about the confirmation of an arrangement between the Commonwealth and the Territory in relation to the clean-up of the Kingston site. Either Mrs Carnell can produce the correspondence and the confirmation or she cannot. It is as simple as that.

As far as I am concerned, this motion is about having Mrs Carnell confirm that with other members of the Assembly. That was a clear impression that she tried to create during the course of question time. I do not think there is any doubt about that in anybody's mind. Mrs Carnell has the job in front of her now to convince us that that deal in fact exists. There is, on the face of it, no evidence; only a press statement from Mrs Carnell. The question is really whether the Chief Minister can refer to correspondence. I do not know why there is such resistance. If pieces of paper are available, I do not know why there is such resistance to this motion. Why is the Government not supporting it? There is no precedent in this. If Ministers in this place refer to certain correspondence, they can be obliged to table it at any time. If it is of such a commercial nature as to be sensitive, I am sure that all of us would be happy to receive the correspondence in confidence. Stop trying to kid us.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General): Mr Speaker, I also seek leave to speak.

Mr Berry: No. I will have to speak again because I closed the debate, Gary.

MR HUMPHRIES: We have given Mr Moore leave to speak and you leave to speak.

MR SPEAKER: I am sorry, but you have already sought leave Mr Berry, and so has Mr Moore. You have closed the debate, effectively.

Mr Berry: I will close it again, too.

MR HUMPHRIES: But I have sought leave to speak.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Humphries is seeking leave to speak.

Leave granted.

Mr Berry: I will close it again after you have finished.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Berry, if you want the last word, you are very welcome to it. Mr Speaker, I think Mr Moore's suggestion is a sensible one. The fact is that the Government is not in the business of trying to keep things secret. I know that those opposite will laugh derisively at the suggestion, but we are not in the business of trying to keep things secret. The question is how these things should be done. Members opposite, despite the way they have portrayed it in this debate, never asked the Chief Minister to table the correspondence. They never asked her in the course of question time to do that. Mr Berry did in the course of interjection; but, as we know, that is not appropriate behaviour, as you have made clear, Mr Speaker.

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