Not only is it totally new, Madam Speaker - and I'm really, really surprised - but the hon member has made a determination that the courts have not made. The fact that somebody is charged in this country does not mean that that person is guilty. Now, we all like to refer to the principle of innocent until proven guilty, but the hon Kalyan clearly has already determined guilt in this case.
What happened, as I'm sure the hon member knows, is that the National Director of Public Prosecutions said a few months ago that they were going to arrest and charge the National Commissioner of Police. As we had agreed with him, he needed to alert me to that because we also had to deal with matters that would impact on national security. Therefore we gave Jackie Selebi extended leave to allow for that court case and appointed an acting national commissioner.
That court case is outstanding. I do not know when it will be heard. The issue that then arose concerned his contract, obviously. Indeed, the hon member is quite right: We have extended it for a year. We have not, unfortunately, come to the determination that the hon member has arrived at, that because National Commissioner Jackie Selebi is charged, he is guilty and therefore that it is incorrect to extend his contract. [Interjections.]
So, no, we are not going to proceed on the presumption of guilt in this or any other case. We'll continue to respect the principle that people are innocent until proven guilty. Thanks, Madam Speaker. [Applause.]