Page 2293 - Week 08 - Thursday, 7 June 1990
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Rights meetings. So that is out. But I am supporting Mr Moore's amendment.
Before I discuss that, I would like to tell the house why I walked out during the vote the other night. I walked out because I thought members were being rather hypocritical. There were three people here who I did not think were hypocrites because they voted against banning X-rated videos. My argument is that, if you are going to vote against something, you should not then turn round and tax it. I am afraid I was angry about that, so I made up my mind I was not going to be here for the vote. Mr Duby, Ms Maher and Mr Collaery voted with us against banning these videos; the others voted for a ban, yet when they lost they were prepared to tax them. I was disgusted, so I did not vote.
Getting back to Mr Moore's amendment, I point out that the Liberals stood for election on a slogan which said: "Liberals, a government you can afford". Just let me start with a few of the things that we cannot afford: increases in taxes and charges way above CPI figures; rates increased by 16 per cent in 1990-91, an increase which, in real terms, is nearly 10 per cent, well above CPI figures; bus fares increased by more than 9 per cent, the second increase in six months. When I was Minister I had already increased bus fares as well as parking fees. The increase is double the CPI increase which, for the same period, was about 3.5 per cent.
Cuts in health and education simply reflect the Liberals' priorities for the ACT. The agenda is privatisation for its own sake and cutting for the sake of cutting. This Government is headed by a Chief Minister who has himself admitted that there will be a lowering in educational standards in the ACT. Many other attacks are planned on services, as outlined in the Priorities Review Board report. Mr Kaine is no more than the Assembly's snowman.
Closure of the Ainslie Transfer Station is another example of the broken promises of this Government. It promised to maintain the standards that the ACT residents were used to. All this is from a Chief Minister who said constantly during the 1989 election campaign that there would be no real increases in rates and charges and that there would be no decreases in the services provided to the ACT residents.
Obviously the Chief Minister's words are hypocrisy and humbug. The standing of this Government in the community can be judged by a quick look at the letters to the editor in the Canberra Times. In today's column there are eight letters, six of which are critical of the Government. The people of the ACT are fed up with this hypocrisy from members of a government whose only agenda is to flog off as much of the ACT's assets to their mates as they possibly can. They are just a bunch of puppets. Their strings are being pulled by Mr Snow and they are dancing to a tune played by Mr Hindmarsh.
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