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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 12 Hansard (18 November) . . Page.. 4175 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

the standing of this place. It is about setting a standard, it is about adhering to that standard and when that standard is breached the punishment must be meted out. In this case this Assembly must find that it lacks confidence in the Minister for Health because he is guilty of contempt. The minister must go.

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, and Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming (11.22): This is clearly a matter of petty politics. I do want to congratulate the Liberal machine on the speed with which Mr Smyth absorbed the report, framed the motion, had it typed, signed it and had it distributed. I would ask him to table the details of that time line in this place as a matter for this debate.

Mr Smyth: You saw it brought down to me.

MR QUINLAN: Just let us know the time of day that you signed it and how long it took you. Apparently, Mr Smyth, you have absorbed this report today, you have framed a motion, you have had it typed and you have signed it "Brendan Smyth, 18 November 2003".

Mr Smyth: I signed it in here.

MR QUINLAN: I would like to see details of the time line, thank you. Just put them on the record. That is all I want to see, Mr Smyth; I want them on the record, thank you.

Speaking of arrogance, I did mention in the debate on the introduction of the paper into the Assembly the breadth of the way that the Estimates Committee operates. I express no great objection to the way it operates, but Mr Smyth talked about the arrogance of Mr Corbell. Mr Smyth, let's just dwell for a moment on your arrogance as the chair of the Estimates Committee. I do have recollections of appearing and being told, "I decide what goes on around here."There was, as I said, some childish antler rattling in that room and you were part of it.

If you wanted to make politics out of this incident, you have blown it because you did not in any way as chair of that committee follow up on these figures. You were so concerned that you had to have the figures and you had to have them then, not later in the week, even though you were not reporting for weeks. Why did they have to be available then? Was it to inform the committee or to have a minister of the territory obey? What other reason could there have been for this demand to have those figures and to have them then, if not, "I want to make petty politics in the public forum out of them, so it's not to do with the committee"or, "I want you to do what I tell you, because I am the chairman of this committee?"

You were told in that committee that you were going to get those numbers. Your interest in them did not go further to recalling the minister to examine those figures or even taking the opportunity to examine the minister on the figures when he appeared again before the Estimates Committee. So, particularly on the part of the chair of the Estimates Committee, there was no interest in the figures. The interest was in what politics you could make out of this little head butting competition, which is trivial in the extreme.

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