Page 1483 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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remaining Green who is in the Assembly—a complete inability or unwillingness to take on the government, to hold the government to account and to ensure that we allow proper scrutiny.
I do not think anyone would disagree that an Auditor-General’s investigation, short of a royal commission, which no-one is suggesting, is about the most detailed scrutiny we can have in the ACT. It is warranted here. It is warranted just on the basis of the Chief Minister’s own words in expressing her concerns. It is warranted on the basis of what the shareholders are saying. Who knows what else exists beneath the surface? Who knows what we have not been told about? That is what the Auditor-General should be allowed to do, and that is why Mr Hanson’s motion should be supported today.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (5.20): Quite a passionate presentation there from the departing MLA, from the departure lounge. He managed to pull together a speech during what has been a very busy day signing thankyou cards or bon voyage cards; we are not quite sure what they were. In the last two sitting days that has been the priority of the member in the departure lounge up there. I must say, Madam Deputy Speaker, I find it very difficult to sit through a lecture from Mr Seselja, who has already signalled his intention. He has no more interest in matters in this place.
Mr Seselja: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker—
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Stop the clock, please. Mr Seselja, on a point of order.
Mr Seselja: Yes, on relevance, Madam Deputy Speaker. We are debating here the issue of ACTEW. We are debating the issue of whether an Auditor-General’s investigation should be allowed to take place. Ms Gallagher is not being relevant to that and I would ask you to ask her to be relevant.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ms Gallagher, continue and be relevant to the subject of the amendments; thank you.
MS GALLAGHER: I will be relevant to the amendments to the motion. My comments relate to the speech that Mr Seselja just gave, which was full of incorrect allegations levelled at the shareholders about us not having done our job. That is clearly incorrect. He completely overlooks the matter that is in the public domain about the level of information that has been provided to the shareholders and the acceptance by ACTEW and the ACTEW board that they did not provide the information to the shareholders that the shareholders had sought. That was not correct and Mr Seselja’s entire address essentially focused on those points.
I am not going to take a lecture from someone who should not be sitting in this chamber, who perhaps tomorrow we will see with a bottle of whisky in the departure lounge up the back there. In terms of accepting the passion that Mr Seselja tried to create in that speech, I think it is very difficult coming from someone who does not
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