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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 7 Hansard (26 June) . . Page.. 2582 ..
MR CORNWELL
: I seek leave to make a statement, Mr Speaker.Leave granted.
MR CORNWELL
: Mr Speaker, I find the Treasurer's statement quite extraordinary. We have asked that this paper be tabled here. We wish to look at it, we wish to read it, and we wish to have the opportunity, if necessary, not to turn it into a political football, but to-Mr Quinlan
: You will.MR CORNWELL
: Do not judge everybody by your own actions. The fact is that we wish to read the paper and, if necessary, debate it. What is the point of tabling various reports or various statements and then saying, "But all you're allowed to do is read them; you can't possibly raise them in the Assembly?"What is the point of that?Totalcare is a very important issue. It concerns many, many people. All I am asking is that you give us the opportunity to adjourn debate on this matter. I am, further, interested in adjourning it because, in the event that advice is received by the Treasurer that some of the blacked out sections can be, in fact, filled in, that will add to the report, it will add to the interest of members in reading it and it may add to the debate that comes up.
All I am asking is that the Treasurer move that the paper be noted so that I can adjourn the debate. I do not think that that is an unreasonable request. If the trend of this government is not to do so, then all I can say is that it is attempting to stifle debate and prevent the people of the ACT knowing what is going on in the government.
MR QUINLAN
(Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming): I seek leave to respond briefly. I will explain.Leave granted.
MR QUINLAN
: Mr Cornwell, there are a number of vehicles that allow you to come back to this place and debate that paper. In my statement I said that if there is further information to be added to that paper after the review by the Auditor-General, I will bring it to this place. You would have plenty of opportunity to get off your butt and engender debate if you wanted to. I did not come in here with the intention of putting it on the business paper for debate, and I still do not. If you want it on the business paper for debate, put it on the business paper for debate, but do not ask me to do it for you.Mr Cornwell
: Mr Speaker, I seek your guidance or perhaps that of the clerks. How do we put it on the business paper for debate now, considering that the Treasurer does not have the courage to do so?MR SPEAKER
: Let me answer that. You can put a motion on notice and deal with it as private members business, you can seek to suspend the standing orders or you can seek leave to move a motion. There is a range of things that you can do. I think we can move on at this point.
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