mr. burnett has done is just very strange. he didn't communicate with us. he didn't discuss it with us. does the treasurer stand by his own words? >> of the deputy prime minister of the treasure? >> i thank the treasurer for his questions yet we have had a humiliating back down today because he has been forced to admit that he knew that if he took this decision to increase royalties then it would be withdrawn by the independent commission. and he has finally admitted that today. and he's also put some correspondence in circulation which goes back almost 13 months where he did raise the question of the finance but a matter he has not discussed with me, mr. speaker and he did put that in a letter, no doubt about that, but he didn't say that he was moving to put it in that budget then or in a subsequent budgets because he made that announcement before the budget, mr. speaker, before the budget before last so what he's conceived is that he knowingly went ahead with a royalty increase knowing that would result most probably in less revenue for the people of western australia, and with that d