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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 7 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2028 ..
MR BERRY (4.29): I move:
That so much of the standing and temporary orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Berry moving a motion requiring the Minister for Health and Community Care to withdraw his claim that the Special Death Review Committee had found Dr Jeans' claims were patently false.
Mr Deputy Speaker, in question time today, Mr Moore made the allegation that that was the finding of the Special Death Review Committee. I do not need to argue the case about what the Special Death Review Committee said in its report, which I have just had the opportunity to read, but it is clear from any reading of that report that there is no mention of the words "patently false" anywhere within the report. Indeed, Mr Deputy Speaker, if you look at the report, you will see that the report actually concedes that there was delayed surgery. It also concedes, on any reading of it, that it was felt that the problems with communications would have been improved if discussion were face to face, rather than by phone.
I do not carry a brief for Dr Jeans, by the way. I have never spoken to the man in my life, as far as I can recall, nor can I remember being in his presence. But, search as I might through this report, I cannot find expression by the death review committee that the claims by Dr Jeans were patently false. I can find suggestion that some of the things that he was talking about were patently true. There was delayed surgery.
I do not want to criticise the report. I do not want to enter into debate on it. That debate can happen somewhere else between Dr Jeans and his colleagues, as far as I can make out. But I do find this whole matter most disturbing and I believe that Mr Moore has made a false claim. In fact, it would have been quite easy for me to move a motion in relation to him misleading this Assembly because it is clear that at question time he made certain claims about this report which were untrue. I think it would have been open to me to move a motion in relation to his having misled this Assembly.
I have not chosen to take that course at this time, but I think the suspension of standing orders would leave the way open for Mr Moore to see a bit of sense and withdraw his silly claim, which was quite untrue, inaccurate, grossly misleading and unfair, especially so since it concerns somebody outside of this place. I am prepared to accept that there is a disagreement between professionals and that is as appropriate as it can be. But I am not prepared to accept that Mr Moore's claims are right, that is, that this committee said the things that he claimed in question time that it had said when he made those misleading comments to this house. Accordingly, Mr Deputy Speaker, I have moved for the suspension of so much of the standing and temporary orders as would prevent me moving the motion which has been circulating.
MR HUMPHRIES (Treasurer, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Community Safety) (4.33): Mr Berry, in his moving of this motion, has claimed that the Minister for Health and Community Care made certain statements to describe the nature of a report which he has tabled in this place. I also sat through the debate and heard Mr Moore's comments. He made a number of comments that were not in the printed speech that he gave, which has been circulated.
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