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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-13 Daily Xml
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ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (14:43): My question—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms CHAPMAN: —is to the Premier. Will the Premier require the resignation of the Attorney-General in accordance with his Ministerial Code of Conduct if the Attorney-General is found by a court to have defamed a senior judicial officer? The Attorney-General is being sued by the Chief Magistrate, Andrew Cannon. Section 2.3 of the Ministerial Code of Conduct states:

...in the discharge of his or her public duties a minister shall not dishonestly or wantonly and recklessly attack the reputation of another person.

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (14:43): That is right. We know what you say about your own leaders. I mean—

An honourable member interjecting:

The Hon. M.D. RANN: Yes. They said the former leader and the one who resigned yesterday. Extraordinary! Can I just say that this matter is currently before the courts. I know that there are days when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition stands up, and it is kind of like, 'May it please, m'lud' and all the rest, but the fact is that she should know better than anyone, given that she believes that she is a distinguished expert in jurisprudence, that it would be absolutely improper—in fact, I believe it would be a breach of the code of conduct—to comment on matters currently before the courts.

As members know, I am very reluctant to enter into debate with the judges or, in fact, in any way interfere in the course of justice with the criminal law. This is not in the criminal courts, and I can tell members that the Attorney-General is not being prosecuted for criminal libel; therefore, I have every expectation that his reign as Attorney-General will be long.

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