Page 993 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .


MR SPEAKER: Do you claim to have been misrepresented, Mr Coe?

MR COE: I do.

MR SPEAKER: Please proceed.

MR COE: Yesterday, the Chief Minister made a specific point of coming back into the chamber to comment on how much correspondence I had sent him. Yesterday, I sent him a letter asking him to amend the record at the earliest opportunity, and I invite the Chief Minister to do so now.

MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Minister for Transport, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts and Heritage), by leave: Mr Speaker, I must say that I was not aware that Mr Coe had written to me, and I will look forward to seeing the correspondence when I return to my office. But it was drawn to my attention by my office that, yes, indeed, Mr Coe had written more than five letters to me. I will get the correct number. It was also drawn to my attention by my office that, contrary to assertions which Mr Coe made yesterday that he never included the names of constituents in correspondence to me, in fact a number of the letters that my office has now discovered that Mr Coe has written to me do contain the names and addresses of his constituents.

Mr Coe: I clarified that in the speech.

MR STANHOPE: I correct the record in two respects. I do—

Mr Coe: You can correct this statement tomorrow as well, Jon.

MR STANHOPE: Well, I will table the letters then, Mr Coe. But my office advises me in two regards. In the first—

Mrs Dunne: Point of order—

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope!

MR STANHOPE: Well, I am withdrawing—I have been asked to correct the record, and I am doing that. My account of the amount of correspondence, I am advised by my office, was incorrect. I apologise to Mr Coe for understating his diligence and energy. But at the same time I do need to draw attention to the fact that Mr Coe yesterday misrepresented the truth in suggesting that he never included the names of constituents in correspondence.

Mr Coe: Check what I said.

MR STANHOPE: Oh? You did concede you had.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope! I think—


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .