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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3960 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

On Tuesday, we had a quite extraordinary situation in this place when questions were asked by the Leader of the Opposition and the Deputy Leader of the Opposition - or should I say the would-be Leader of the Opposition? Maybe I should say the would-be member for Fraser. I am not sure, because what is happening on the other side of the house at the moment is very complicated. We heard some deliberate misrepresentation of the work of the Auditor-General. I say that again. We had the Opposition deliberately misrepresenting the work of the Auditor-General and actively seeking to undermine the integrity of that audit. It was an absolutely dreadful situation.

In doing so, they also made unwarranted and extremely unfair attacks on the senior management of the Chief Minister's Department. This is the same senior management who last week received prestigious awards from the accounting profession and accolades from a former State Premier and a former Commonwealth departmental secretary for the quality and innovation of their annual report. Mr Speaker, who has greater credibility when it comes to assessing accounting standards - Mr Whitecross and Mr Berry or the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants? I do not think I have to answer that question. In presenting two major awards to the ACT Office of Financial Management and to one of its senior officers, Mr Rex Hollier, last week, the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, ACT Division, wrote:

This leading edge reform package has attracted favourable attention from international and national accounting organisations and has the potential to provide long term benefits to the public sector.

That is not a comment from the Government; it is a comment from the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants, ACT Division. Yesterday we saw an acutely embarrassed Mr Whitecross - I hope he was acutely embarrassed - furiously doing the backstroke during a personal explanation. In his personal explanation yesterday he said, "Mr Speaker, my personal - - -

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I think Mrs Carnell may have inadvertently - - -

MR SPEAKER: Are you taking a point of order?

Mr Berry: Indeed I am.

MR SPEAKER: Under what standing order?

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, this is about relevance. Mrs Carnell was not even here yesterday. How could she see anything that was happening on this side of - - -

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Carnell does have a copy of the Hansard, Mr Berry. There is no point of order.

Ms Follett: Could I try a point of order on you, Mr Speaker, futile as that may well be? I would like to put it to you - - -

MR SPEAKER: Are you suggesting, Ms Follett, that I will not listen to or rule accurately on your point of order?

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