Hansard debates

Mr WYNNE (Richmond—Minister for Housing, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, Minister for Planning) (11:17): I thank the member for Kew, who is looking fair dinkum magnificent. Thank you so much for your question.

Mr M O’Brien: He has been laying off the dumplings.

Mr WYNNE: I say to the Leader of the Opposition in a bipartisan way, we are encouraging people to actually eat more dumplings because it is very important for us to support our Chinese community, as the Leader of the Opposition knows.

In relation to the question itself, the member for Kew FOIed voluminously a whole range of correspondence in relation to matters relating to the rezoning.

Mr T Smith: It was not voluminous.

Mr WYNNE: It was a voluminous request which the department asked the member for Kew to recast.

Mr T Smith: Which I did.

Mr WYNNE: And they have been recast and they are being considered, but more importantly it does provide me with the opportunity to clarify a couple of matters which the member for Kew in a recent opinion piece asserted which are in fact completely wrong.

Mr T Smith: On a point of order, Speaker, the minister said that my request was voluminous. The request was redrafted, and again it was suggested it was voluminous. I do not know how 76 records could be construed as voluminous. On relevance, Speaker, the minister is misleading the chamber.

The SPEAKER: Order! That is not a point of order.

Mr WYNNE: I think it is important to clarify for the Parliament and the community more generally that the assertion that the member for Kew raised in an opinion piece on Monday that I had met with Mr Woodman is completely false. Mr Woodman has attended a number of functions and forums, and indeed at every one of those I have been accompanied by a probity auditor.

Mr T Smith: On a point of order, Speaker, on relevance again, my question was regarding the minister’s refusal to FOI matters of great public interest. He did attend a fundraiser at PwC in 2018 with Woodman.

The SPEAKER: The minister had answered the question and is now straying from answering the question that was asked. I ask the minister to come back to answering the question or conclude his answer.

Mr WYNNE: Indeed. The determination of FOI matters, as the member for Kew obviously knows, is made by public servants, not by ministers.