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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 4 Hansard (9 April) . . Page.. 827 ..

Personal explanation

MR PRATT: Pursuant to standing order 46, I seek leave to make a personal explanation and indicate that I have been this day misrepresented.

MR SPEAKER: Leave is granted.

MR PRATT: Mr Corbell misrepresented me in question time today in respect of a subject relative to the education inquiry. There is no evidence to indicate that I have slurred Ms Connors' character. On the contrary, if the minister had listened-

Mr Corbell: No, you just said she was biased. That is all you did.

MR PRATT: Listen, Minister. If the minister had listened and if he had identified what had been presented, he would have seen that I had acknowledged Ms Connors' experience and capabilities. He would have seen that I had acknowledged that Ms Connors is a competent and capable educationalist but one with a narrow perspective in relation to what we would see as a broad ACT education system.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Pratt, personal explanations and points where you attempt to raise instances where you have been misrepresented are appropriate under standing order 46. But you cannot start a debate over the issue, and it seems to me that you are trying to debate the issue.

Mr Quinlan: Get on with it. Get it over with. Get it off your chest.

MR PRATT: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you, Mr Quinlan. I have two points about Mr Corbell misrepresenting me. The first is that there is no evidence that I have slurred Ms Connors' character, and I challenge him to produce the sets of words that would indicate that. Secondly, I have pointed out that Ms Connors is a capable and competent educationalist. That does not support Mr Corbell's view that I have slurred her character, so I cannot see how that would be the case. I seek Mr Corbell's retraction of those words.

MR SPEAKER: You cannot do that under standing order 46. You may wish to raise this in the adjournment debate and deal with it more comprehensively.

MR PRATT: Okay. Thank you.

Answers to questions on notice

MR CORNWELL: I would like to ask a question under standing order 118A. There is a question on the notice paper in my name, question 117, addressed to the Minister for Health. The 30 days in which to answer this question expired on 6 April, and I would like to know when I might receive a response.

MR STANHOPE: I will chase it up, Mr Cornwell. I beg your pardon.

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