Michael Stedman Mercury
FORMER premier Paul Lennon will appear before a Legislative Council committee on Monday. … Premier David Bartlett has been highly critical of the committee, accusing it of straying from its core terms of reference to delve into the pulp mill debate and airing smear and innuendo. … But committee chairman Paul Harriss said he would not be deterred by the Government. “One of our terms of reference is the appointment of a magistrate last year and the public allegation that Simon Cooper was to be moved out of RPDC because of grief he caused in the pulp mill assessment,” Mr Harriss said. … Meanwhile, former deputy premier Steve Kons continued to come under fire for his brief apology on Thursday night for suggesting former Supreme Court judge Christopher Wright was “only interested in money” while head of the pulp mill assessment panel. … Greens leader Nick McKim MP called it the least gracious apology he had ever seen. … Mr Bartlett would not comment on Mr Kons’ future but said he admired him for apologising. … Mr Wright said he had not yet decided whether to seek a right of reply as allowed under the Legislative Council standing orders. “Although what Mr Kons said was not much of an apology — it was more significant as an acknowledgement that what he said was baseless,” Mr Wright said. Read more here
