Dr LIM - 1999-08-11
There has been much made in the media in recent times of the work of the AIMSS night patrol service, particularly by the Leader of the Opposition. I note that the Opposition Leader has also accused the minister of not supporting the service. Is this accurate, or just another headline grab by the member for Fannie Bay?
ANSWER
That is a good question. I preface my answer by commending you on your wisdom, Mr Speaker. In the previous sittings you allowed the use of the word ‘hypocrite’. And that is exactly what this person is. We have a hypocrite sitting in the House. We can’t use words like ‘liar’ or ‘fibber’. But I understand that it is allowable to use the word ‘hypocrite’, and that is exactly what we have before us today.
It is interesting to see what a hypocrite is. It’s a person who pretends to be what he is not. I think, therefore, the headline in the Weekend Australian about the pretender to the throne is entirely relevant. This person is a pretender, a faker - somebody who puts on affectations.
The issue before us is one where this House, potentially, has been misled. We have a letter from the Leader of the Opposition, writing to me about the AIMSS organisation. I’m reluctant to talk about the issues in the letter because they are a series of unsubstantiated allegations. Suffice to say that they were fairly serious and they go to the management of that organisation. The letter was written to me on 16 April 1999. The opposition spokesman was seeking advice from the government. That’s an entirely appropriate thing to do.
I wrote to her on 2 June 1999 and told her that a review was under way and that her complaints would be investigated. Only a week after that, during the committee stage of the appropriation debate, I received a question from the Leader of the Opposition asking about the AIMSS organisation. In that, she talked about the necessity for a review. I said that the report would tell me where the most critical areas of needs were and whether there were capacities for efficiencies, as well some potential for expansion. I did say we would discuss some of the complaints that have come to both her office and my office.
Ms Martin: About the night patrol?
Mr Dunham: Yes.
Ms Martin: I haven’t had any complaints.
Now, I don’t really mind the fact that she’s having a hit on me here in this parliament. But it’s entirely another matter then to go to AIMSS and say: ‘Listen, Dunham’s being a really nasty bloke. He’s taking you mob on. I really think you should do something about it’. And that’s exactly what the Leader of the Opposition did.
One of the committee members of the AIMSS organisation said in a letter to me: ‘I understand from Clare Martin that her only complaint was that the AIMSS organisation was not getting funded enough’. This is an outrageous lie that has been perpetrated on an organisation that is under review, that feels threatened because it has been misinformed that the minister is taking a hostile attitude to it, when all we were trying to do was address some of the issues that were put to the Leader of the Opposition.
This is an old journalistic trick. The Leader of the Opposition’s training is to blow up an issue, get her 15-second grab and then discard it like a dirty tissue. That is what she has done in this case. She has no substance to her debate, it is all rhetoric. She uses a form of words to satisfy her media-junkie habit. Basically she runs sarcasm, alliteration, and all this other stuff that she’s been trained to do. But when we talk about the actual substance, there is absolutely nothing in there.
I call on the Leader of the Opposition to apologise to this House and apologise to the AIMSS organisation, which does a great job in extremely difficult circumstances. Those apologies will go some way to addressing the conflicts that she has caused with her hypocrisy.
ANSWER
That is a good question. I preface my answer by commending you on your wisdom, Mr Speaker. In the previous sittings you allowed the use of the word ‘hypocrite’. And that is exactly what this person is. We have a hypocrite sitting in the House. We can’t use words like ‘liar’ or ‘fibber’. But I understand that it is allowable to use the word ‘hypocrite’, and that is exactly what we have before us today.
It is interesting to see what a hypocrite is. It’s a person who pretends to be what he is not. I think, therefore, the headline in the Weekend Australian about the pretender to the throne is entirely relevant. This person is a pretender, a faker - somebody who puts on affectations.
The issue before us is one where this House, potentially, has been misled. We have a letter from the Leader of the Opposition, writing to me about the AIMSS organisation. I’m reluctant to talk about the issues in the letter because they are a series of unsubstantiated allegations. Suffice to say that they were fairly serious and they go to the management of that organisation. The letter was written to me on 16 April 1999. The opposition spokesman was seeking advice from the government. That’s an entirely appropriate thing to do.
I wrote to her on 2 June 1999 and told her that a review was under way and that her complaints would be investigated. Only a week after that, during the committee stage of the appropriation debate, I received a question from the Leader of the Opposition asking about the AIMSS organisation. In that, she talked about the necessity for a review. I said that the report would tell me where the most critical areas of needs were and whether there were capacities for efficiencies, as well some potential for expansion. I did say we would discuss some of the complaints that have come to both her office and my office.
Ms Martin: About the night patrol?
Mr Dunham: Yes.
Ms Martin: I haven’t had any complaints.
Now, I don’t really mind the fact that she’s having a hit on me here in this parliament. But it’s entirely another matter then to go to AIMSS and say: ‘Listen, Dunham’s being a really nasty bloke. He’s taking you mob on. I really think you should do something about it’. And that’s exactly what the Leader of the Opposition did.
One of the committee members of the AIMSS organisation said in a letter to me: ‘I understand from Clare Martin that her only complaint was that the AIMSS organisation was not getting funded enough’. This is an outrageous lie that has been perpetrated on an organisation that is under review, that feels threatened because it has been misinformed that the minister is taking a hostile attitude to it, when all we were trying to do was address some of the issues that were put to the Leader of the Opposition.
This is an old journalistic trick. The Leader of the Opposition’s training is to blow up an issue, get her 15-second grab and then discard it like a dirty tissue. That is what she has done in this case. She has no substance to her debate, it is all rhetoric. She uses a form of words to satisfy her media-junkie habit. Basically she runs sarcasm, alliteration, and all this other stuff that she’s been trained to do. But when we talk about the actual substance, there is absolutely nothing in there.
I call on the Leader of the Opposition to apologise to this House and apologise to the AIMSS organisation, which does a great job in extremely difficult circumstances. Those apologies will go some way to addressing the conflicts that she has caused with her hypocrisy.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016