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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 7 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 1848 ..

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move that so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mrs Carnell from moving her threatened censure motion.

MR SPEAKER: Is leave granted? You will have to move a motion to do it, though.

Mr De Domenico: You can stand up and censure yourself, if you like.

MR BERRY: Do I have leave?

Mr De Domenico: Yes, to censure yourself.

Mr Moore: Yes, you have leave to move to allow Mrs Carnell to put her censure motion. That is what you asked for leave for.

MR BERRY: I asked for leave. Are standing orders suspended?

Mr De Domenico: For what?

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Minister for Health and Community Care): Mr Speaker, I might be able to help. A couple of the crossbenchers asked for a briefing on this issue.

Ms Follett: So did we.

MRS CARNELL: Have you got it yet?

Ms Follett: No.

MRS CARNELL: The briefings are available. I think it is appropriate that those members who want briefings be allowed to have those briefings. Certainly, the Government has given no indication whatsoever that a censure motion was definitely on or definitely off, as the case may be. I think it would be very inappropriate for any motion to go ahead without people being properly briefed. We are very happy to make those briefings available.

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition): Mrs Carnell has been making hay at a rate of knots on this in the media. She briefed all the media that she was going to move a censure motion this morning. She has been organising front-page stories slandering Mr Berry, and then she says, "But, out of respect to the Assembly, I am not going to put up my case; I am not going to come into the Assembly and justify my allegations against Mr Berry because I have not had a chance to brief anybody yet". Mrs Carnell should have thought of that before she started making these allegations. Mr Berry asked for a briefing yesterday. We are still waiting. If Mrs Carnell thought that this was such a serious matter

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