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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 4734 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Mr Speaker, only in the last few weeks we have seen a number of occasions when members opposite have come to this place - - -

Ms McRae: Tyrants who refuse to answer questions are better, are they? Is that the case?

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MR HUMPHRIES: If I can make my comments without being shouted down, members opposite in this place have come in here and pointed to members like Mr Kaine, for example, and said, "The buses have not been running. What are you going to do about it? You are responsible for the fact that the buses have not been running at a certain time"; or they have said to me, "You are responsible because publications appeared at the behest of the Canberra Hospital". They have pointed to a whole range of matters for which Ministers are responsible.

But when it comes to the wasting of almost $6m of public money - a matter directly under the responsibility of Minister for Sport, Wayne Berry - those opposite claim he was not responsible; it was nothing to do with him. He says, "I am a cleanskin. I am not responsible for what is done in my name by my department, and which I myself described on the floor of this place as a good deal and money for jam". Mr Speaker, that is the standard of person who has been offered by the Labor Party to be Chief Minister come 21 February next year.

Mr Hird: And Treasurer.

MR HUMPHRIES: And Treasurer.

MR CORBELL: My question is to the Chief Minister. I refer the Chief Minister to her accident last Sunday in a government vehicle which was issued to her both as an MLA and as Chief Minister. Chief Minister, I also refer to your leaving of the scene of the accident before police arrived. Is it not the case that the reason you left the scene of the accident was precisely to avoid having to provide a breath test because you knew you were over the limit? Is it not the case that you calculated that it was better to be charged with leaving the scene of an accident than with drink-driving?

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. The Chief Minister has fully answered this question, and it is not a matter within her ministerial responsibilities.

MR CORBELL: No, she has not. She has not answered that question at all.

MR SPEAKER: The Chief Minister gave a most comprehensive answer to Mr Whitecross, who asked the first question.

MR CORBELL: She certainly did not.

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