Is Liberal Speaker Playing Favourites?

Wayne Berry - Member for Ginninderra

Media Statement - 28 March 2000

Labor MLA Wayne Berry today attacked the Territory's Liberal Speaker over his move to prevent Mr Berry from attending the ACT Legislative Assembly. Speaker Cornwell named Mr Berry over his tongue-in-cheek remarks on Chief Minister Kate Carnell's driving habits in comments made during the March 3 Assembly sitting.

In the Assembly adjournment debate on March 3,Mr Berry, speaking in respect of Mrs Carnell's possible attendance at Opera By George at the Madew winery, posed a question to the Attorney General:

  • "would he ask the Chief Minister whether she is going or not because if she was I was going to suggest to him that he might talk to his counterpart in New South Wales to ensure that there are adequate resources on the roads for the return journey and he might talk to the Queanbeyan police. If she is not going we can all relax but in the event that she is, perhaps he might giver her a couple of cab charges."

The Madew winery at Lake George was the scene of a cricket game in 1997 after which the Chief Minister's car was involved in a on her return to the A.C.T. Luckily Mrs Carnell was not injured and left the scene for her office shortly after the crash.

Mr Carnell said afterwards in an interview on ABC radio:

  • Look I had a couple of glasses of wine with lunch but this was a long way into the afternoon by the time this happened." and
  • "There was no view that I was in any way intoxicated whatsoever.

No police charges were laid over the incident but it has led to the Chief Minister's driving skills being the butt of Assembly jokes ever since.

On 11 December 1997, in the Assembly adjournment, Mr Moore said:

  • She (Mrs Carnell) has accepted an offer from the ACT Labor Party to be Wayne Berry's driver through the coming election campaign. If she, and he, survive that task, she will also drive for Rob Borbidge during the Queensland election next year.

And to top it all off on 10 December 1998 also in the adjournment debate, Deputy Chief Minister Gary Humphries said:

  • It does not really matter what Mr Berry gets as long as it is a left-hand drive, and it does not matter what Mrs Carnell gets as long as someone else drives it.

"Speaker Cornwell has reflected this jittery government's hyper-sensitivity over criticism of Kate Carnell by attacking me over tongue-in-cheek comments about Kate Carnell's driving," Mr Berry said.

"The farce reached even greater heights when Attorney General Humphries moved for my suspension from the House, notwithstanding his swipe at the Chief Minister, and Michael Moore supported him," Mr Berry concluded.