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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 3705 ..


MR QUINLAN (continuing):

this place. I suggest to Mr Stefaniak and to Mr Cornwell, for whom those two people work, that they should take another look at themselves and the support they have given their staff, who acted honourably when, quite clearly, at least one other staffer had acted dishonourably to cause the incident in the first place.

MRS CROSS (11.34): Mr Speaker, I would like to make some comments, if I may. My former adviser, David Moore, whom I hired on the recommendation of Mr Humphries because he had been a longstanding member of this Assembly and who did some very good work for me, was in fact the person that sent alarm bells ringing for me regarding Mr Humphries. Until the police raid on Mr Strokowsky's office-which was on 6 March, I believe, in the morning-I would never have suspected or thought that Mr Humphries or anyone else from that office had anything to do with anything wrong.

I remember arriving at the Assembly that morning wondering why there were people in there, and I said to David Moore, "What's going on?" He said "Shit, the police are in there raiding Mike's office." I said, "Why?" He said, "Something to do with emails." I remember David panicking. His words were: "Shit, the question." I said, "What question?" He said, "The question that you were forced to ask in February regarding the government's tardiness in responding to correspondence." I could not understand his concern, and I said, "Don't worry. I questioned the basis for that question, and I in fact took it back to Mr Strokowsky in February and I said, 'I'm not asking that. It's a shallow question.' " That information is in evidence.

I understand that Mr Moore has given evidence in camera. I do not know what that evidence is, but I am assuming he told the committee what he told me about the affair. What he told me was that shortly after the police had raided Mr Strokowsky's offices Mr Humphries had a meeting with Mr Paul Osborne. The day after that meeting, Mr Moore came into the office and said, "Gary knew about the emails." I said, "I don't believe it." He said, "Yes, he did." I said, "How do you know?" He said, "Because he told Paul yesterday."

I assume that that is the evidence Mr Moore gave to the committee. I understand he gave that evidence in camera.

Ms Tucker: No. It is published now.

MRS CROSS: I have not looked at the evidence, but that is not only what Mr Moore told me. He also discussed the fact that there was a third person that had knowledge of Mr Humphries knowing about the emails to a number of other staff in this Assembly. Why I did not give that evidence when I came forward to the Privileges Committee is I assumed Mr Moore gave that evidence. If he did not, he should have, because I can assure you that is what Mr Moore told me. From that day on, Mr Moore became extremely wary and cautious of the Liberal opposition. He felt that the man that he trusted and that I trusted could not have possibly done this. But the fact that his best friend, Paul Osborne, told him meant that there was some problem. The fact this is not in the report-

Mr Humphries: Why didn't you give this evidence before the committee?


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