❓ The Deputy Premier responds to a question about the Leader of the Opposition's claim of supporting integrity and standards by attacking the Opposition's record, particularly concerning the Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
AnsweredQoN 276Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION - SUPPORT OF INTEGRITY AND STANDARDS
What is the government’s response to the Leader of the Opposition’s claim yesterday that he is a fierce supporter of integrity and standards? Mr E.S. RIPPER
What is the government’s response to the Leader of the Opposition’s claim yesterday that he is a fierce supporter of integrity and standards? Mr E.S. RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made the claim that he was a fierce - in any case, by his standards - supporter of integrity and standards. I did not think he had any choice but to remove his chief of staff for leaking confidential information to the media. Point of Order Mr M.W. TRENORDEN : I rarely take points of order, but I am trying to work out the relevance of the question to the Treasurer. I cannot get the two to meet. The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made the claim that he was a fierce - in any case, by his standards - supporter of integrity and standards. I did not think he had any choice but to remove his chief of staff for leaking confidential information to the media. Point of Order Mr M.W. TRENORDEN : I rarely take points of order, but I am trying to work out the relevance of the question to the Treasurer. I cannot get the two to meet. The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made the claim that he was a fierce - in any case, by his standards - supporter of integrity and standards. I did not think he had any choice but to remove his chief of staff for leaking confidential information to the media. Point of Order Mr M.W. TRENORDEN : I rarely take points of order, but I am trying to work out the relevance of the question to the Treasurer. I cannot get the two to meet. The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr E.S. RIPPER replied: Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made the claim that he was a fierce - in any case, by his standards - supporter of integrity and standards. I did not think he had any choice but to remove his chief of staff for leaking confidential information to the media. Point of Order Mr M.W. TRENORDEN : I rarely take points of order, but I am trying to work out the relevance of the question to the Treasurer. I cannot get the two to meet. The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition made the claim that he was a fierce - in any case, by his standards - supporter of integrity and standards. I did not think he had any choice but to remove his chief of staff for leaking confidential information to the media. Point of Order Mr M.W. TRENORDEN : I rarely take points of order, but I am trying to work out the relevance of the question to the Treasurer. I cannot get the two to meet. The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
The SPEAKER : I must admit that I did not listen to what the member for Perth asked. However, I find it difficult, from what I did hear, to work out how it relates to the Treasurer’s portfolio in any way. Maybe it does, but I suggest that the Treasurer may wish to refer only to the part that relates to his portfolio, which I would think would be very little. Questions without Notice Resumed Mr E.S. RIPPER : I am of the view that standards in government are integral to the operation of every portfolio. They certainly are integral to the operation of the Treasurer’s portfolio. I would not tolerate it if, in the Treasury portfolio, someone were to leak confidential information to the media. I would take strong action against such a person. Last week I was the Acting Premier and had some responsibility for matters related to this question. What amazes me about the whole issue - Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr P.D. Omodei : Why did he ring you? Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Mr E.S. RIPPER : It is interesting that the Leader of the Opposition asked why he rang me. I think the more interesting question is: why did the Leader of the Opposition not ring his chief of staff? The Premier talks to me from China, which I think is a reasonable thing to do. What is unreasonable is when the Leader of the Opposition does not talk to his own chief of staff from Carnarvon. Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
Let us deal with the Leader of the Opposition’s claim about standards. It falls away when we think about the lack of action by the Leader of the Opposition relating to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Let us look at what the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has done. He has misled his own electors. He said that he was opposed to the Smiths Beach development but then he went behind their backs and helped the lobbyist Noel Crichton-Browne - who is a person of interest in a corruption inquiry - organise candidates for the Busselton shire council elections who will, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition understands, support the very development that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has publicly opposed. There was also that meeting in the car park when the Deputy Leader of the Opposition cooked up his evidence that he was to give to the CCC with Noel Crichton-Browne, the disgraced lobbyist. How could he have done that? How can the Leader of the Opposition, who stood aside his chief of staff because he leaked a report that he expected to be published in the newspaper 24 hours later, do nothing about the member for Vasse? I do not think the Leader of the Opposition is as fierce a supporter of standards as I am in the Treasury portfolio. The Leader of the Opposition washes his hands of the Deputy Leader of the Opposition’s actions. He says, “What Troy Buswell does, is Troy Buswell’s business.” If that is the Leader of the Opposition’s approach, he does not have any credibility on integrity and standards. Until the Leader of the Opposition can stand up to the admittedly powerful Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and face him down and call him out on his standards, the Leader of the Opposition does not have any credibility on this issue.
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