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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (1 March) . . Page.. 454 ..
MR KAINE: I do, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Please proceed.
MR KAINE: During question time the Chief Minister accused me of being an iconoclast. She referred to Mr Rob de Castella as a national icon and accused me of somehow attacking him. I refute that. I want to set the record straight. I have known Rob de Castella for a long time. As an athlete, I have a great deal of respect for him. What I did today was not an attempt to attack Mr de Castella. When Rob steps out of the field of sport and gets onto the payroll of the ACT Government, I think I am entitled to ask how much he is being paid. That was the question which I asked and which the Chief Minister skilfully avoided answering. She went on the offensive and accused me of attacking Rob de Castella. It is a good ploy of the Chief Minister. If you ask questions about Bruce Stadium, you are anti-Olympics - - -
MR SPEAKER: You are now moving beyond a personal explanation, Mr Kaine.
MR KAINE: I will bow to your ruling, Mr Speaker, but I think you are a bit premature. It would seem that Mr de Castella is on the government payroll. The Chief Minister did not deny that. He is no doubt on the payroll to make supportive comments. Or is the Chief Minister going to suggest that he is on the payroll to make unsupportive comments? That seemed to be what she was saying before. I refute the implication of the Chief Minister that I was attempting somehow to denigrate Mr de Castella; I was not. I would still like an answer to the question that I put to the Chief Minister of how much he was being paid for his services to the Government.
The following papers were presented by Ms Carnell:
Cultural Facilities Corporation Act, pursuant to subsection 29 (3) - Cultural Facilities Corporation - Quarterly report (for the second quarter of 1999/2000: 1 October to 31 December 1999).
Canberra Tourism and Events Corporation Act, pursuant to subsection 28 (3) - Canberra Tourism & Events Corporation - Quarterly report - October - December 1999.
MS CARNELL (Chief Minister): Pursuant to sections 31A and 79 of the Public Sector Management Act 1994, I present copies of long-term contracts made with Mark Kwiatkowski and Aidan O'Leary, and schedule D variations made with Michael White, Sue Birtles and Gerry Cullen. I seek leave to make a short statement in relation to these contracts, Mr Speaker.
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