Page 674 - Week 03 - Thursday, 15 March 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
I will pass over the churlish and disorderly interjections of the Chief Minister and congratulate Mr Hargreaves for getting on board and doing something to ensure that ACTION buses will be better in the future. I commend the motion and I thank those helpful members of the Assembly who have assisted in this today.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
Bushfires—proposed order to table
Mr Stefaniak: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion circulated in my name.
Leave not granted.
Standing orders—suspension
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra—Leader of the Opposition) (5.46):
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Stefaniak from moving a motion to require the Chief Minister to table papers relating to the Canberra 2003 bushfires.
Mr Speaker, this motion requires the Chief Minister to deliver to your office for distribution to members by the close of business tomorrow, it being far too late today, the following documents: a briefing paper to cabinet prepared by Mike Castle and Tim Keady warning of the potential serious impact to the urban area and listing the urban edge as an asset under threat; any other documents created for or resulting from the cabinet briefing given on 16 January 2003; and, thirdly, cabinet minute decision 0516 noting arrangements for the declaration of a state of emergency and the need to recall cabinet if decisions had to be made about the future of assets.
The reason for this is that the Chief Minister refused to provide these documents and referred everyone, as he has been doing in questions, to the transcript and to the court. However, if one looks at the web, these documents, I am told, are not there. When you go through the coroner’s report, whilst there are points from the cabinet briefing which are referred to in volume II of the report, the document is not attached.
These documents we submit are crucial. They are documents that were certainly available before the court but which are not available elsewhere. They are not documents that were attached to the report, they are not documents that were readily available, but they are very germane and very pertinent to some very serious issues in relation to the bushfire and the inquiry. Despite asking for them over the last two weeks or so, we still do not have a number of answers to questions that are of crucial concern to the population of Canberra. These documents were very much relied upon, were looked at by the court, relied on by the coroner and are mentioned, in some instances, I think, at page 60 or so of volume II—
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .