Page 3704 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 26 August 2009
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(b) the Liberal Party’s spokesman for Education, Mr Doszpot, has asserted that this is an incorrect statement and that the Minister for Education has misrepresented him and misled the Non-Government Schools Council and, in doing this, has breached the Ministerial Code of Conduct; and
(c) the Minister for Education and Training has been unable in the debate today to provide a logical and substantial justification for making that claim to the Non-Government Schools Council;
(2) calls on the Minister for Education and Training to:
(a) apologise in the Chamber to Mr Doszpot for misrepresenting him in the letter to the Non-Government Schools Council by the end of sitting on Thursday, 27 August 2009; and
(b) write to the Non-Government Schools Council withdrawing the statement, as it misrepresented Mr Doszpot, and table a copy of the signed letter by end of sitting on Thursday, 27 August 2009; and
(3) should the Minister for Education and Training not meet the requirements of clause 2b, calls on the Speaker to write to the Non-Government Schools Council, in the following terms:
‘In a letter from the Minister for Education and Training to you on 28 July 2009, he stated that “… I have made abundantly clear in the Legislative Assembly that the Government opposes suggestions by the Liberal Party’s spokesman (Mr Doszpot MLA) that I should use the Human Rights Act 2004 as a way of the Government taking over non-government school teaching and curriculum”.
The ACT Legislative Assembly has found that this statement may have misled you because it is a misrepresentation of Mr Doszpot. It has also found that in making such a statement to you, the Minister inappropriately used his position of authority.
The Assembly called on the Minister for Education and Training on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 to apologise to Mr Doszpot, and correct the record with you, but he has chosen not to do so.’.”.
The Greens’ amendment to the censure motion seeks to give the minister an opportunity to formally correct the record, both in the chamber and to the Non-Government Schools Council. If he does not do so then the best way we can go forward to correct the record is to have the Assembly step over the minister and write to the Non-Government Schools Council. The minister should remember, as he has not done on previous occasions, that he is not above the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (3.06): It is an interesting new standard that the Assembly is proposing to establish today, because basically the standard that the Assembly is proposing to establish today is that, where a member of this place puts a political
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