Graham Perrett Moreton, Australian Labor Party
3:02 pm
Mr Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?
Graham Perrett Moreton, Australian Labor Party
Yesterday I was contacted by a member of the public who was concerned that I had misled the parliament when addressing a motion in the chamber on commemorating the Srebrenica massacre. I stated that 200,000 Bosnian Muslims had been murdered during the Yugoslav conflict between 1991 and 1995. I based this figure on International Committee of the Red Cross casualty data and earlier reports to the UN. However, I acknowledge that more recent research currently puts the total of confirmed casualties at around 110,000 people, as some bodies were buried and then dug up and reburied. I acknowledge that the total number of casualties is still in dispute but, whatever the statistics, nothing can change the horror and loss of this tragic war.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?
Ken O'Dowd Flynn, National Party
The Minister for Infrastructure and Transport today claimed that he had not spoken to me about the Calliope crossroads, and in fact had never met me. He has a very short memory. I sat beside him at the opening of the Gladstone Airport, and we spoke—
Bernie Ripoll Oxley, Australian Labor Party
You must have made a big impression!
Ken O'Dowd Flynn, National Party
Yes, I did make a big impression—he actually borrowed my biro from me because he could not remember the name of the former member for Flynn, which was Chris Trevor, who was sitting on the other side of him. He could not remember his name, so he had to take my biro and write his name down.
Honourable members interjecting—
Harry Jenkins Speaker
Order! The honourable member has explained where he has been misrepresented. He should not further debate it.
Harry Jenkins Speaker
The member for Flynn has had a good go.
Honourable members interjecting—
Order! Would members like to fill in the half-hour that they now have by just yelling and screaming across the chamber?