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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-04-30 Daily Xml
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Personal Explanation

GENOCIDE OF THE ARMENIANS, PONTIAN GREEKS, SYRIAN ORTHODOX, ASSYRIAN ORTHODOX AND OTHER CHRISTIAN MINORITIES

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON (Croydon—Attorney-General, Minister for Justice, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Veterans' Affairs) (14:05): I seek leave to make a personal explanation.

Leave granted.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Before the luncheon adjournment, the Leader of the Opposition told the house:

I am very saddened. I draw the attention of the house to an article in Neos Kosmos, described by some as Australia's leading Greek newspaper and the largest ABC audited ethnic publication. A featured article in the opinion section focused on this issue—

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! Point of order.

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: First of all, the minister is reflecting on a vote of the house. This matter has already been debated. Secondly, it is not a personal explanation. He seems to be re-entering a debate we had this morning. He is certainly reflecting on a decision the house has already made in private members' time.

The SPEAKER: Order! I have not heard anything the Attorney has said so far which is a reflection on the vote of the house. I do make clear to the Attorney that the purpose of a personal explanation is to show that he has somehow been misrepresented. It is not to re-enter the debate that was held earlier today. I will hear what the Attorney has to say, and if I think he is straying off, I will pull him up.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: The Leader of the Opposition said:

A featured article in the opinion section focused on this issue, I think on 30 March 2009. The editorial states—

And the Leader of the Opposition then quotes:

Playing ethnic politics is a dirty game that threatens to shatter social harmony quite a good deal more easily than referring to or interpreting historical events. The fact of the matter is that Australia's communities of diverse backgrounds have proven that they can co-exist peacefully in fruitful collaboration and ties of friendship because of our joint commitment to multicultural Australia. No cynical, irresponsible or misguided attempt to score points or votes off the back of any arbitrarily chosen ethnic group should ever be permitted to bear the bitter fruit of discord.

The Hansard will show the Leader of the Opposition went on to say those remarks applied to me.

Mr Hamilton-Smith: And Alan Ferguson.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Exactly—and you misled the house, because here are the words—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! It is okay; it is all right. The Attorney must withdraw the allegation.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: I withdraw the allegation that the Leader of the Opposition misled the house. Here are the four paragraphs leading into that paragraph: 'Ferguson must be a very brave man'—

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr HAMILTON-SMITH: The Attorney has just selectively quoted what was said this morning. He has failed to mention that I then went on to say that those remarks applied equally to Senator Ferguson and him. He is debating an issue that has already been debated in the house. He had his opportunity—

The SPEAKER: Order! There is no point of order. I do not recall exactly what the Leader of the Opposition said. I presume that the purposes of the Attorney's explanation is to correct the record, as he sees it, insofar as the leader may be saying that those remarks apply to him, in which case he is within the realm of a personal explanation. The Attorney.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: Sir, I was misrepresented by the Leader of the Opposition because the whole article entitled 'The Banality of Ineptitude' shows that those remarks are attached to Senator Alan Ferguson.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Mr PISONI: Mr Speaker, I rise on point of order.

The SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney will take his seat. The member for Unley.

Mr PISONI: The minister is going way beyond a personal explanation.

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley will take his seat. I have already ruled on that.

Mr Pisoni interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The member for Unley will take his seat. I have already made a ruling on the matter. The Attorney-General.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: The words are, and this is a quote from Neos Kosmos leading into the paragraph quoted by the Leader of the Opposition:

Ferguson must be a very brave man to so blatantly and artlessly exhibit his ignorance of the period in question. He is also brave for his frank revelation of the manner in which he views the place of historical events pertaining to Australians—

Ms CHAPMAN: I have a point of order, Mr Speaker.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

Ms CHAPMAN: Would you be quiet for just one moment? My point of order, Mr Speaker, is that, far from being a misrepresentation of what the Attorney has said, he is reading a quote that refers to Senator Ferguson.

The Hon. P.F. Conlon interjecting:

Ms CHAPMAN: It is nothing to do with you.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Attorney appears to me to be trying to correct the record insofar as he believes that the Leader of the Opposition was saying that these remarks in some way applied to him, and he is explaining to the chamber that the content of the editorial was, in fact, directed towards Senator Alan Ferguson. The Attorney has been given leave to do so. However, I think he should wrap up his explanation. The Attorney-General.

The Hon. M.J. ATKINSON: To concertina it, the last paragraph leading into the paragraph which the Leader of the Opposition said applied to me says:

And in [Ferguson's] ridiculous, offensive and thoroughly sickening denial (to victims and descendants of the victims) of the Christian genocide, is he merely adhering to what appears to be his own jaded view of the use of ethnic groups in his electorate?

The SPEAKER: Order! I think the Attorney has made his point to the house.

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