Personal Explanations — Question No. 2 to Minister—Child Poverty Statistics

I seek leave to make a personal statement.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): In regard to?

It is in regard to inadvertently misleading the House this afternoon.

The ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Lindsay Tisch): A Minister normally asks for leave to do that. I will check with the Clerk; one moment, please. Leave is sought for that purpose. Is there any objection? There is no objection.

I sought leave to make a personal explanation under Standing Order 358. I am concerned that I may have inadvertently misled the House this afternoon during question time, when I accidentally implied that 90 percent of all children in all schools go without lunch. That, of course, is not true. I agree that we must not make untrue statements in this House. What I intended to say, and failed to say at the time, was that KidsCan said that 23 percent, on average, and up to 90 percent of the children in the schools it works with as an organisation, need lunch every day. I think that that is an important fact to put before—

Order! You cannot comment on that, because it is a debating point.