Page 2763 - Week 09 - Thursday, 27 September 2007
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This code is clear and unequivocal about matters of conflict of interest. The reality is that the accepting of the revenue by the ALP branch in the ACT creates a potential conflict of interest, and this issue needs to be addressed. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, also the matter—
Mr Corbell: On a point of order, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker: to make a suggestion of a conflict of interest is a very serious allegation, and I think that it is a reflection upon me and all other Labor members in this place that we somehow are ignoring a conflict of interest—an alleged conflict of interest. I think that is disorderly and unparliamentary, and the assertion should not be made without some sort of substantive motion to that extent. I understand why Mr Smyth is moving this motion, and I will respond to that in the debate, but I think he does have to be careful in not using this debate to assert that there is a conflict of interest.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Gentleman): Mr Smyth, when you continue, please make sure that you do not assert any conflict of interest.
MR SMYTH: All right, but I will address the point of order, because I do not accept the allegation. I would be interested to know under which standing order the minister raises it. What I said, if he had listened closely—and I will finish—is that it creates a potential conflict of interest. That is the point I am discussing here. The whole point of the motion is to clear up this ambiguity, so it is not right to raise a point of order on the whole point of the matter. That is the problem—the ambiguity is there; it is out in the public. The whole purpose of referring it to the committee is to address the ambiguity as it exists. But I take your advice, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, just to reflect on the point of order, it does refer to reflections on members of the Assembly, so, as I said before, if you could just refrain from any assertion of conflict of interest by members of the Assembly.
MR SMYTH: I shall refrain in that light. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, there is also the matter of contracts explicitly raised by standing order 156. There is a contractual relationship between the Labor Club and the ACT government through the licences that are in place to enable the Labor Club to operate poker machines. On that basis alone, a significant issue of conflict of interest appears to arise. The whole issue warrants careful consideration.
The act, when it was put in place in 1988, that leads to standing order 156 may well be the root cause of the problem with the standing order. It may well be that when the committee reports it may have in it a recommendation that the federal government be approached to clarify what the act itself says. If there is a conflict of interest in a body, to have that body determine whether it can resolve the conflict of interest or determine who has the conflict of interest is, of itself, a conflict of interest. If, as the ministerial code says, we want to have openness and fairness, then we should clear up this ambiguity. As I said, the whole issue warrants careful consideration.
I think we have to take into account the situation in other parliaments, such as the House of Representatives. Its standing order on conflict of interest is entirely different
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