Page 1855 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 30 May 1990
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for any of the policies with which they went to the people, including education and the Royal Canberra Hospital in particular. I know there are still people in the community - one or two only, admittedly - who really think that the Residents Rally will somehow moderate this Government's view on the provision of community services. I think, after the education debate this morning, all of their illusions are shattered because what we have here is a purely Liberal government in the mould of Thatcher and Greiner, only somewhat more so.
MR HUMPHRIES (Minister for Health, Education and the Arts) (3.28): Mr Speaker, it is unfortunate that the grassfires are still being started by our friends opposite. I do not see any prospect of them giving up in that regard. But I will do my best once more to indicate to the people of the ACT, who I am sure are listening to this ongoing debate, what the real facts are and how the ACT might begin to challenge the financial problems that it currently faces.
I do not really think that Ms Follett, who has now left the chamber, has a lot of credibility on the score of her projections about money. I recall her, during the last election campaign, with great certainty and assuredness, telling the community that there was no need to panic about money, that the ACT had enough guarantees into the future to ensure that we would not have to go without, that everything was all right and not to worry. I recall the day, almost 12 months ago today, when Ms Follett attended her first Premiers Conference at Parliament House. I recall the two pictures on the front page of the Canberra Times - the first one showing Ms Follett entering the Premiers Conference, smiling, happy to be there representing the ACT for the first time, and the second picture of her when she was told, in spite of the Commonwealth guarantee, about how the ACT was going to be docked $21m. I recall the slack jaw and the stunned look on her face, as she suddenly realised that her friends in the ALP Federal Government were not as friendly as she had first thought.
Mr Speaker, ever since those photographs appeared in the Canberra Times I have very much doubted whether Ms Follett's projections about the Commonwealth Government's intentions in the ACT really have much credibility. It is quite obvious to everybody, except perhaps Ms Follett, that the ACT will not have any favours done for it by the Commonwealth Government. It is appropriate in those circumstances that we take proper, considered, careful measures to ensure that we are prepared for what will undoubtedly be a very steep slide down a hill towards lesser levels of Commonwealth funding for the ACT. We are in that sense like the third little pig that built his house of brick. The others laughed at him, but in the long run he was certainly more secure than his brothers.
I think it is also worth making a passing reference to the sorts of ridiculous statements that Ms Follett has made
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