Page 2174 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 5 June 2019
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government’s words so that they can say, “The government said whatever,” not, “I contacted my local MLA and they said if you look on the website here and here and you put the two together, this is what it actually means.”
Some of these questions might be a pain in the neck but they are not a waste of time. They are an important part of open government. Thank you again to the officers who worked on questions 2416 and 2407. Thank you also to all the officers across all the directorates who have given helpful responses to hundreds of my questions.
Public housing—relocations
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (5.53): I want to take the opportunity during the adjournment debate to reflect on something that occurred today during question time.
Immediately before question time started today, Mr Parton from the Canberra Liberals came up and said to me that he was not going to mention a public housing complex by name, and he was not going to mention or talk about any of the individuals that live there. I thanked him for that. Then I got the first question from Mr Coe. I do not mind getting questions. These can be very complex issues. Sometimes it is hard to provide all the information when they are of a sensitive or personal nature, but, nonetheless, that is what we are here for, and I am happy to take the questions. Mr Coe said something like, “We are not going to name the complex or the address in the chamber.” He then went ahead and asked the question. I had a number of questions and I responded to them as much as I could. Nobody mentioned the name of the complex, and I thought that was a really grown-up approach to such a sensitive matter.
I was surprised at one of the last questions Mr Parton asked. He named the public housing complex that he had told me earlier he was not going to mention. I was surprised because I had always felt that Mark Parton held himself to his word. And I was disappointed because he had chosen a particularly vulnerable group of Canberrans to bring into the public eye, even after I had said in the response to one of the questions something like, “Let’s just let the police and Housing ACT get on with their job of supporting these individuals and managing this issue that has occurred; then we can go on from there and I can provide some more information.”
It seems that the Canberra Liberals are now saying one thing and doing another. I do not understand why, particularly in these circumstances, after personally telling me that he would not mention it, and after an undertaking by the Leader of the Opposition that there was not going to be any mention of the complex name, Mr Parton went on to mention it.
I have asked on a number of occasions in this place, and I will ask again, for anybody in here, including members of the government, if they are contacted by individuals, particularly on sensitive and personal situations that might occur where you need information or you want a response for a member of our community, to take a leaf out
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