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Title

PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS

Database

House Hansard

Date

19-06-2001

Source

House of Reps

Parl No.

39

Electorate

Perth

Interjector

SPEAKER, Mr

Main Committee/Federation Chamber

 

Page

27873

Party

ALP

Presenter

 

Status

Final

Question No.

 

Questioner

 

Responder

 

Speaker

Smith, Stephen, MP

Stage

 

Type

 

Context

Personal Explanations

System Id

chamber/hansardr/2001-06-19/0035


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Tuesday, 19 June 2001
Page: 27873


Mr STEPHEN SMITH (3:30 PM) —Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.


Mr SPEAKER —Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?


Mr STEPHEN SMITH —I do, Mr Speaker, in two separate respects.


Mr SPEAKER —The member for Perth may proceed.


Mr STEPHEN SMITH —Firstly, today the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Alston, in a media statement of today's date said that I was deliberately misleading the Australian community, that I was deliberately ignoring the law and that I was lying. These outrageous assertions are untrue. There is no basis for any of these suggestions. Secondly, Minister Alston said in the same press release:

Mr Smith has told today's Financial Reviewthat:

“A fully privatised Telstra would be under no obligation to subsidise consumers.”

I told the Australian Financial Review no such thing. I can only assume the Australian Financial Review reported in error part of my doorstop yesterday, where I said:

And so the point that Senator Alston is making— that Telstra should not be required to do uneconomic things—I assume can only mean that Senator Alston no longer believes that Telstra ought to provide Universal Service Obligations and Customer Service Guarantee obligations.


Mr SPEAKER —The member for Perth will indicate where he has been misrepresented.


Mr STEPHEN SMITH —Unlike Minister Alston, I do not accuse the Australian Financial Review journalist of fabrication. I can only assume it was an error. The misrepresentations made by Senator Alston are entirely untrue and without foundation.