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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 1999 ..
Ms Carnell: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. That is an innuendo and it is a preamble.
MR SPEAKER: The preamble I cannot do anything about on the first question.
MR BERRY: It would be the first time anybody ever got ruled out for innuendo, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: You cannot be, but you can be for an imputation. I suggest that that not be taken up.
MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, this sort of thing has been evident in such things as the threats to ACTCOSS, which you would all remember, the Civic Youth Centre and, the Woden Youth Centre. Members in this place receive a constant stream of complaints from various community organisation concerned about the government's approach to their funding if they are critical of the government. The most recent example of this was by the health minister in relation to a complaint by a medical practitioner. I was surprised to hear on ABC radio that the health minister disputed what the practitioner had said but-
MR SPEAKER: Get to your question, please.
MR BERRY: He was saving up the good bits until he could do it under the protection of this house. I rather suspect that later on today we will see-
MR SPEAKER: Get to your question, Mr Berry. The preamble is quite long enough.
MR BERRY: It is a supplementary question that cannot have a preamble, Mr Speaker. I rather suspect we will see this medical practitioner blackened a little later on. My question to the minister is: was the medical practitioner, who will be the subject of a tirade later on, I have no doubt, in breach of his contract in speaking out on the state of the hospital and criticising the government's management of the hospital system?
MR MOORE: Mr Berry, he said that he was. On ABC radio Dr Jeans indicated that the contract had a gag clause in it. I am not aware whether the contract has a gag clause or does not have a gag clause. Contrary to what he did say on ABC radio, I certainly had no role in saying there must be a gag clause in such a contract. I simply do not know the answer to that question, Mr Berry.
MR BERRY: I ask a supplementary question. Is the plan that you announced on ABC radio to blacken this doctor under the privilege of this house just a spiteful and vindictive move against somebody who dared to expose your incompetence as health minister?
MR SPEAKER: Mr Moore, that is asking for an expression of opinion.
MR MOORE
: I do need to answer this question, Mr Speaker, because Mr Berry has used the opportunity here to suggest that I am threatening Dr Jeans. In fact, the contrary is true. If instead of interjecting you had listened to my reply to Mr Stanhope, you would have heard me indicate quite clearly, as I have done publicly, that I have no intention of doing anything other than presenting the evidence of Dr Jeans' colleagues. Dr Jeans
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