Amended Answers to Oral Questions — Question No. 10 to Minister, 19 September

I seek leave of the House to correct an answer given to an oral question.

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Is there any objection to that? No, there isn’t.

On 19 September, in my answer to question No. 10, I inadvertently left out three emails from the first exchange between Clare Curran and Derek Handley that began on 11 August. I was unaware at the time of giving the answer that there were two further emails on 11 August from Clare Curran in response to Mr Handley’s original email and an email from Mr Handley on 13 August to begin the process for setting up a phone call. I apologise to the House for that.

I raise a point of order, Madam Speaker. You’ll be aware that the Opposition has been asking questions about the very issue of these Gmails for four weeks. The previous Speaker at the time asked the Minister to, in fact, bring them to the House and make them available to the House. My request, for the Minister to consider, is whether he will table the emails that he inadvertently did not disclose in my questions last Thursday.

I’m just going to seek a bit of advice. Thank you.

That material is now in the public arena—all of it—and, actually, I’d be denied leave to table it in the House under the current Speakers’ rulings. But it is available to the member.

Madam Deputy Speaker. To be helpful—

💬 DEPUTY SPEAKER: Are you speaking to the same point of order?

Yes, I am. My understanding, from the Minister, is that the additional emails that he was referring to in his answer were those that had been publicly made available by Mr Derek Handley this morning. If that is the fact, as he assures, then it is not relevant for my request. At the time I made the request I wasn’t aware that he was referring to those particular emails.

OK. That settles it. The difficulty I had, of course, was the question at question time. But everyone’s happy. We will continue.