Opposition questions the Premier's commitment to ministerial responsibility, accusing him of protecting incompetent ministers. The Premier deflects by attacking the opposition's past record and accusing the questioner of plagiarism.

AnsweredQoN 835Legislative Assembly
Asked
1 November 2006
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

PUBLIC CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT
I ask a supplementary question. As a former journalist, the Premier demanded the highest standards of ministerial responsibility and accountability. Why has the Premier thrown those standards out the window to protect his incompetent ministers? Mr A.J. CARPENTER

AnswerView source ↗

Mr Speaker - Mr R.F. Johnson : Just remember when you were a journalist, my friend. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Hillarys! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: Mr Speaker - Mr R.F. Johnson : Just remember when you were a journalist, my friend. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Hillarys! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
Mr Speaker - Mr R.F. Johnson : Just remember when you were a journalist, my friend. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Hillarys! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
Mr R.F. Johnson : Just remember when you were a journalist, my friend. The SPEAKER : Order, member for Hillarys! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
The SPEAKER : Order, member for Hillarys! Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER : I remember! I have a memory that stretches back to page whatever of this morning’s The West Australian and to the line that the member for Hillarys borrowed from Gary Adshead’s column. Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.
Government members - not just me - expect the highest standards from this government. That is because we observed what happened when the opposition was in government, when it had absolutely no standards. We observed what happened and I remember what happened. If anybody, including some of the reporters, has forgotten what happened when the opposition was in government, they should go back and refresh their memories and draw a comparison.

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