Mr BAILEY - 1996-11-27
Yesterday, the minister tabled a Department of Health memo with all handwritten notes in place. That memo, from the secretary of the department, was written on 17 May 1994, the day the election was called. The handwritten notes confirm that, on that very day, the senior ministerial adviser to the Deputy Chief Minister detailed the exact requirements of the database to target it specifically at seniors and aged pensioners. He did that when the election had been publicly announced. Why did his office continue to pursue the downloading of the confidential database, given that the election had already been called?
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ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I do not understand the relevance of the question.
Mr Bailey: That is the problem.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Do you want to hear an answer or not? I do not intend to talk over you. If you keep interrupting, I will sit down.
Mr Speaker, I assume that, because my staff are keen and trustworthy, and keep doing their job as requested, unlike members opposite who do not take any notice of the Leader of the Opposition, they would have pursued my request. I do not recall when I made that request, and whether or to what extent it predated the minute in question. I do not think the secretary of the department would have written the minute as soon as the request was made. The important point - and I thought I made it quite clearly a number of times yesterday - in relation to this specific request, and the specific minute and the list that flowed from it, was that I did not use the list. I have indicated this clearly, both outside and inside this House, and that is the crux of the issue.
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Page 1839
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I do not understand the relevance of the question.
Mr Bailey: That is the problem.
Mr SPEAKER: Order!
Mr REED: Do you want to hear an answer or not? I do not intend to talk over you. If you keep interrupting, I will sit down.
Mr Speaker, I assume that, because my staff are keen and trustworthy, and keep doing their job as requested, unlike members opposite who do not take any notice of the Leader of the Opposition, they would have pursued my request. I do not recall when I made that request, and whether or to what extent it predated the minute in question. I do not think the secretary of the department would have written the minute as soon as the request was made. The important point - and I thought I made it quite clearly a number of times yesterday - in relation to this specific request, and the specific minute and the list that flowed from it, was that I did not use the list. I have indicated this clearly, both outside and inside this House, and that is the crux of the issue.
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Last updated: 09 Aug 2016