Ministerial Statement

WOMEN'S INFORMATION SERVICE

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (11:16): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I would like to make a ministerial statement on the issue of the WIS history function invitation. Yesterday, I informed the chamber of the Women's Information Service relocation and outlined the WIS history project which I announced at a function on 18 May 2012. I drew to the attention of the chamber that the history project I announced at that function was the idea of the Hon. Ms Lensink, and I stated that I had invited the Hon. Ms Lensink to attend that function.

However, yesterday the Hon. Ms Lensink claimed that she was not invited to that event. I have checked the records and this is simply not true: she was invited. Our records show that a personally signed written invitation was posted from my office on 27 April 2012. What is more, an invitation follow-up phone call occurred on 15 May 2012, when an Office for Women staff member who made the call was informed by the Hon. Michelle Lensink's office that the Hon. Ms Lensink was unable to attend the function because she was going to be in Berri all day.

Yesterday afternoon, I indicated in the house that I would check the records to see what went wrong: I did. Yesterday afternoon, I provided the honourable member, Ms Lensink, with a copy of the correspondence and details regarding the phone call. She indicated to me at that time—that is, yesterday afternoon—that she was aware of the phone call but that her office had not received the letter. She therefore provided inaccurate information and misinformation to this chamber. What is more, she lacked the courage, the fortitude and the decency, when she obviously did find out from her office that she had received a phone call about an invitation, to return to the chamber and actually correct the record at her earliest convenience.

There is no reason for the Hon. Ms Lensink to come into this chamber and emphatically make claims that are untrue simply because she cannot organise her own office, simply because her office loses correspondence. After she knew about the phone call, to still not do anything about it is just cowardly and irresponsible. She clearly needs to get her office in order—a big clean-out, I would say. The event that I conducted was an opportunity for me to acknowledge the wonderful work of WIS volunteers. That event was not a Liberal or Labor Party convention.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister was accused yesterday of misleading the house by some of your colleagues. We know who misled the house now. The honourable minister.

The Hon. J.S.L. Dawkins interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: You must cop your punishment.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: The event was not a Liberal Party convention nor was it a Labor Party convention. No other member of parliament was invited and, as I have stated, an invitation was extended to the Hon. Michelle Lensink because of her interest in the WIS history. So, she was invited. No other members of parliament—either Labor, Liberal or otherwise—were invited. It was a very small informal event.

Clearly, as we know in this place, time and time again, the opposition comes in to this chamber without checking its facts and make irresponsible and ill-informed comments. They are a disgrace. I believe I am owed an apology by the Hon. Michelle Lensink, who provided misinformation to this chamber, who lacked the courage and the fortitude, once she had realised her error, to come in and set the record straight. I would also call for an apology from the Hon. Rob Lucas, who, in an interjection, accused me of misleading parliament. I wonder if he will accuse his own member, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, of the same offence with such gusto.

The PRESIDENT: Business of the day, minister?