Page 3141 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
deception that followed early in that week in late April when the Chief Minister said, “I have made everything public,” that not everything was public. That is the problem with this.
Mr Barr: The whole world’s a stage!
MR SMYTH: With respect to Mr Barr and his little mocking tone, it is really funny that when Mr Barr gets up, you know he is in trouble from the start when he stares steely-eyed at the Speaker and cannot address the chamber. He has this steely stare: “I won’t be distracted from my purpose.” And he goes to the personal slur. He has this little card; he must have it in his pocket. “I’ve got a card. Zed Seselja: these are my things to say about Zed Seselja.” He trots it out to the Property Council, he brings it out here in the chamber, because he lacks substance. It is interesting. They trot out the old thing—
Mr Barr interjecting—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Barr!
MR SMYTH: They trot out the old lie: “We should not vote for the debate today.”
Mr Seselja: A point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
MR SMYTH: Stop the clock, please.
Mr Seselja: Madam Deputy Speaker, you made it very clear that, if anyone raised their voices during this debate, you would warn them. You warned Mrs Dunne. We have had several instances from both Mr Barr and Mr Corbell, and I would ask you to apply the same standard to the government.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Seselja. Mr Smyth.
MR SMYTH: You are not going to warn him? Okay, I will finish then.
This is a debate about the Chief Minister’s record and her deception. Mr Barr portrays it as a debate that will change the government. At the end of the day there will still be 11 opposite that can elect a new minister, but Mr Barr of course puts up the old chestnut that this will change the government. Perhaps it should change the government because what it shows is that Mr Barr does not believe he is up to being the next Chief Minister, although that is what he is backgrounding the press about: “We’ve got these concerns inside the party.” He obviously has no faith in Mr Corbell as perhaps a potential Chief Minister or Deputy Chief Minister either. So you undo yourself. You get up and you slur, you get up and slag, but you will not talk to the issue.
The only person perhaps at the end of the day that has any honour in this may well be the officer who did the data tampering, because she did come forward and she did fess up, and she then did the right thing. She resigned. Perhaps the Chief Minister should now step up and do the right thing and resign.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video