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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (31 August) . . Page.. 2744 ..

MR SPEAKER: In fact, this siege is lasting longer than Tobruk.

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, Mr Speaker, indeed. Mr Speaker, the information was not provided to me or to the committee because of an oversight, an error, incompetence, or whatever you want to put, and I regret that fact, but I do not think any public servant should be held too rigorously to account for that because the very short time frame provided for this information to be put on the record was such that a mistake of that kind was almost inevitable. The fact that the documents were provided subsequently indicates very clearly that there was no intention on the part of the government or the public service to deceive the committee in the non-disclosure of those documents.

MR CORBELL: I guess, Mr Speaker, you have to wonder whether the government would have told the Assembly that if I had not done the FOIs.

MR SPEAKER: Is this a supplementary question?

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, my supplementary question is this: Treasurer, how is it that the sale of ovals for redevelopment, which was the matter on which the Estimates Committee requested information from you, and the issue of urban infill does not correlate with your department? Surely they are the same thing?

MR HUMPHRIES: Well, surprising as it may appear, Mr Corbell, I do not go down and review the filing system used by the department.

Mr Corbell: It's pretty obvious, isn't it.

MR HUMPHRIES: It's terrible. I'm sorry. I just haven't got around to it, I'm sorry.

Mr Corbell: Urban infill and sale of ovals for redevelopment. It's the same thing.

MR HUMPHRIES: You know, I have been balancing these surpluses and dealing with extra police on the streets. I'm sorry that I have overlooked that obvious job of going down there and sorting out that damned filing system in DTI.

Mr Corbell: Well, it's pretty important.

MR HUMPHRIES: I know. Look, I'm really sorry about that. I probably should resign, shouldn't I, Chief Minister?

Ms Carnell: Yes, absolutely.

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes. Okay. I will get around to it one of these days, Mr Corbell. Perhaps you would like to come and help me sort out the filing system.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I would like to add a little bit of further information to Mr Humphries' comment.

MR SPEAKER: Yes.

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