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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3066 ..

Mr Whitecross: Mr Speaker, further to the point of order: It is not for Mr Kaine to say what is the nature of Mr Berry's personal explanation. That is for Mr Berry. If members of the Government insist on using question time to quote selectively from people's press releases to launch personal attacks on people, they have to expect personal explanations at the end of question time, and they should sit back and listen to the personal explanation, instead of trying to interrupt it all the time.

MR SPEAKER: Except that, as I said at the beginning of question time, members may make a personal explanation where they have discovered that they may have inadvertently misled the Assembly or have been accused of improper practices or conduct either inside or outside the Assembly, or where a member's word has been doubted or impugned. Reading a complete media release into the Hansard is not a personal explanation.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I have referred to one paragraph.

MR SPEAKER: You have, indeed, referred to one paragraph, and I am expecting you now to explain where the personal explanation comes in.

MR BERRY: Yes, Mr Speaker. I have the alternative, to try to seek leave from the Assembly; and, when the Liberals opposite deny me that, I can go into the process of trying to suspend standing orders. It would be far easier for me to just deal with this.

MR SPEAKER: I appreciate that it would be far easier for you to use standing order 46, but I am simply alerting you to the fact - - -

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, Mr Kaine tried to suggest that in some way I had suggested that Mrs Carnell was trying to stop babies from being born, and Mrs Carnell took that one step further by suggesting that I had suggested that she ask women to cross their legs. What a stupid remark to come from a Health Minister! The paragraph in the press release which refers to this reads:

It has reached the ridiculous situation where women's delivery procedures are being delayed because of this reduction in beds.

Mr Speaker, that arose from a complaint in my office from a woman who was to have her baby induced and was not able to be admitted to the hospital because that ward had been closed down. So, Mr Speaker, for Mrs Carnell to make those outrageous suggestions - - -

Mr Humphries: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Mr Berry alleged, when he rose to make his personal explanation, that the fault that Mrs Carnell had committed was misquoting his press release.

MR BERRY: No. I want to make a personal explanation.

Mr Humphries: I know that you do; but you said, when you rose to make a personal explanation, that you wanted to make the explanation because - - -

MR BERRY: Do not rewrite history.

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