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Business of the House

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About this Item
Speakers - Campbell Mr David; Piccoli Mr Adrian; Speaker
Business - Business of the House, Division, Suspension of Orders, Motion

      BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
Page: 328

      Suspension of Standing Orders: Motion of Censure

      Mr DAVID CAMPBELL (Keira—Minister for Police, and Minister for the Illawarra) [4.08 p.m.]: I move:
      That standing orders be suspended to permit the consideration of the following motion forthwith:
      That this House:
      (1) deplores the conduct of the member for Epping in his dealings with Dr Patrick Power regarding child pornographic material found on Dr Power's computer; and

      (2) censures the member for Epping for misuse of his position as a member of the Legislative Assembly by misleading the House and breaching the Code of Conduct in its requirements for honesty and integrity during his personal explanation on 10 May 2007 in relation to events that took place surrounding the discovery of child pornographic material found on Dr Power's computer.

      This is a serious matter. The notion that the shadow Attorney General has misled the House is an important one that needs to be debated. I sought to answer a question on this issue when Parliament last sat. I sought to answer a question on this issue today and the Opposition sought to ensure that information was not provided to the House and therefore to the community of New South Wales. Child pornography is a very serious issue, and the misleading of the House by the shadow Attorney General is an important issue. The best way to clear up this matter is by way of debate. I have moved suspension of standing orders so that we can debate a censure motion and clarify the issue for the people of New South Wales.
      Mr ADRIAN PICCOLI (Murrumbidgee) [3.09 p.m.]: The Opposition absolutely opposes the suspension of standing orders and will oppose a censure motion. This is merely a stunt to divert attention from the failures of the Minister for Police in the Patrick Power matter. The member for Epping in his personal explanation clearly stated the steps he took in consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions and raised questions about the conduct of the Minister for Police and the Government over the handling of the Patrick Power matter. That is why we oppose the suspension of standing orders and will oppose the censure motion.
      The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Bathurst to order.

      Mr ADRIAN PICCOLI: This is a shameless stunt by the Government. The Government should be embarrassed about its behaviour in respect to the Patrick Power matter and its treatment of Parliament. They want to move a censure motion so that they can make allegations under parliamentary privilege that would not be permissible in a court of law in New South Wales.
      The SPEAKER: Order! I remind the member for Bathurst that he is on one call to order.

      Mr ADRIAN PICCOLI: They want to use coward's castle, as they always do, to protect themselves and to trash the reputation of others, including that of the member for Epping. If misleading the House was a reason to move a censure motion in Parliament, in the eight years I have been a member of Parliament the Opposition would have moved a censure motion every day against Government Ministers, including the Minister for Police. Unfortunately, a few of the worst offenders have left the Parliament, but I can start at the end of the front bench with the member for Riverstone, who made scandalous, unproven allegations in the Parliament about a school student at Cecil Hills High. Although he misled the Parliament we did not move a censure motion at the time. There are numerous examples of Ministers making false statements in and out of the Parliament, the most recent being the Minister for Roads, who made false statements about information he had about The Spit Bridge. I commend the member for Manly for taking it up to the Minister. If there are to be censure motions against members of Parliament, then we can start on that side of the House.
      The way the Government has misled the people of New South Wales over the past 12 years is incredible. The Government has made promise after promise after promise in the Parliament about improvements to transport in Sydney. The OSCars were due 18 months ago. Where are they? We were misled by the Premier and the Minister for Transport about the OSCars and increased train services. We have received nothing. The Government misled us about the north-west rail link. They promised it repeatedly, but they have failed to deliver. This motion is another shameless example of the Labor Party misusing the processes of Parliament to trash the reputation of others, in this case the member for Epping. The Minister could not get away with it in question time because the Speaker upheld the standing orders. Now the Minister is trying to do it by way of a substantive motion, which we will absolutely oppose.
      The SPEAKER: Order! I call the member for Bathurst to order for the second time. The member for Murrumbidgee will be heard in silence.

      Mr ADRIAN PICCOLI: I remind Government members that pursuant to the standing orders they cannot abuse parliamentary privilege to make unsubstantiated allegations of quasi-criminal activity. We know what the Minister is up to. He is trying to use the Parliament and have the matter heard as early as possible so that it will make tonight's news. But the media are too smart and are onto him. They know exactly what this is all about. The Opposition will oppose a censure motion and we reject the scurrilous, gutless campaign being waged by the Minister for Police against the member for Epping. This matter will come back to haunt the Minister for Police. The media are on top of his gutless, spineless actions. The Opposition opposes the suspension of standing orders and will oppose a censure motion.
      Mr DAVID CAMPBELL (Keira—Minister for Police, and Minister for the Illawarra) [3.14 p.m.], in reply: What a pathetic contribution!
      The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Police is in order and has the call.

      Mr DAVID CAMPBELL: Not much more than one hour ago the member for Murrumbidgee told us to move a substantive motion. When we seek to move a substantive motion, he says he does not like it. He does not like it because the Opposition is on the back foot. He knows that a censure motion will involve strong debate about the member misleading the Parliament. The Opposition is running scared. His remarks were interesting because the bottom line is he invited a substantive motion. The Government has done its research and was prepared for that. I simply say: Bring on the debate.
      Question—That the motion be agreed to—put.

      The House divided.
      Ayes, 51
      Mr Amery
      Ms Andrews
      Mr Aquilina
      Ms Beamer
      Mr Borger
      Mr Brown
      Ms Burney
      Ms Burton
      Mr Campbell
      Mr Collier
      Mr Coombs
      Mr Corrigan
      Mr Costa
      Mr Daley
      Ms D'Amore
      Ms Firth
      Ms Gadiel
      Mr Gibson      		Mr Greene
      Mr Harris
      Mr Hickey
      Ms Hornery
      Mr Iemma
      Ms Judge
      Ms Keneally
      Mr Khoshaba
      Mr Koperberg
      Mr Lynch
      Mr McBride
      Dr McDonald
      Ms McKay
      Mr McLeay
      Ms McMahon
      Ms Meagher
      Ms Megarrity
      Mr Morris      		Mrs Paluzzano
      Mr Pearce
      Mrs Perry
      Mr Rees
      Mr Sartor
      Mr Shearan
      Mr Stewart
      Ms Tebbutt
      Mr Terenzini
      Mr Tripodi
      Mr Watkins
      Mr West
      Mr Whan
      Tellers,


      Mr Ashton
      Mr Martin

Noes, 39

Mr Aplin
Mr Baird
Mr Baumann
Ms Berejiklian
Mr Cansdell
Mr Constance
Mr Debnam
Mr Draper
Mrs Fardell
Mr Fraser
Ms Goward
Mrs Hancock
Mr Hartcher
Mr Hazzard		Ms Hodgkinson
Mrs Hopwood
Mr Humphries
Mr Kerr
Mr Merton
Ms Moore
Mr O'Dea
Mr O'Farrell
Mr Page
Mr Piccoli
Mr Piper
Mr Provest
Mr Richardson
Mr Roberts		Mrs Skinner
Mr Smith
Mr Souris
Mr Stokes
Mr Stoner
Mr J. H. Turner
Mr R. W. Turner
Mr J. D. Williams
Mr R. C. Williams
Tellers,


Mr George
Mr Maguire
      Question resolved in the affirmative.
      Motion agreed to.


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