Page 2016 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 5 June 1990
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The continued attack by the Kaine Alliance Government on the fabric of ACT society.
MR BERRY (3.49): This Government has set out to impose the Thatcherite philosophy of the Liberal Party on services in the ACT. Of course, the Residents Rally party, or its members here, have pretended nothing has gone wrong with their promise to the electorate. The Chief Minister has made it clear that he is not interested in the views of the residents of the ACT.
I must say, Mr Speaker, in looking at an earlier speech by the Chief Minister where he talked about mutual cooperation, there seems to be some hypocrisy in the way that he operates in the Assembly. He said in a speech today:
There must be mutual cooperation where the Government develops policies that reflect the concerns of the community and where the individuals in the community support those policies by complementary changes to their lifestyles.
Well, what hypocrisy!
Mr Kaine: And that is exactly what we do, old chap. That is exactly what we do.
MR BERRY: What hypocrisy, when we look at what you are doing to the education and health systems.
Mr Kaine: We have not done anything to it, yet.
MR BERRY: Oh, you are not going to do anything?
Mr Speaker, the Chief Minister has made it clear that he is not interested in the views of the residents of the ACT and he has demonstrated the hypocrisy of the Liberal-Residents Rally coalition Government opposite. Last week, over 41,000 signatures on a petition to save the Royal Canberra Hospital were presented in this Assembly and the Chief Minister has made it clear that these views will not be heeded. I see that he is leaving the Assembly now because the blowtorch is on the belly and he cannot cop it.
Mr Speaker, today thousands of concerned members of the community rallied against the proposed cuts recommended by the Priorities Review Board - the outrageous cuts that were proposed by the Priorities Review Board - but this Government, of course, will not listen to them either because it is not interested in community views. It has made that clear, despite the warm words of the Chief Minister this morning.
Mr Kaine: I am back, Mr Berry and Mr Speaker.
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