Page 1964 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 25 June 2008

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Chief Minister—because the Chief Minister, like the rest of us, is a politician and is in for the cut and thrust like the rest of us—but the officials who came back. It would not necessarily have been an easy thing. I especially commend Mr David Dawes for the apology that he made. He has been involved with public life for a long time—not on the government’s side. But in being on the government side and coming back and making an apology to the committee, I thought he did it very sincerely.

Mrs Burke: How embarrassing for him.

MS MacDONALD: I did not interrupt you; please do not interrupt me. He did it very sincerely. I want to commend him for that apology that he made. I believe that the officials, when they came back with the Chief Minister, well and truly clearly set out the process. In spite of that, there was this circular argument. Being a circular argument, it just went round and round about the decision and who spoke to who when.

This is a huge development proposal. There would have been numerous discussions between numerous government departments. It is ridiculous to think that everybody is remembering exactly who said what in what conversation at what time. Basically, the Liberal opposition are just trying to catch people out in the confusion about who said what, by saying, “Did you say this at this point? Did you say this here? At this point you said this”—but failing to recognise that things were superseded later on. As I have said already, this is a farcical motion on the part of the opposition today, an opposition that is a rabble.

Question resolved in the negative.

MR SPEAKER: The question now is that Dr Foskey’s amendment be agreed to.

Dr Foskey: Mr Speaker, could that be dealt with in two parts?

Ordered that the amendment be divided.

Question put:

That Dr Foskey’s amendment No 1 be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Question so resolved in the negative.

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