Page 3001 - Week 10 - Thursday, 16 August 1990
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MRS GRASSBY (3.57): Mr Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in speaking against having not one extra Minister, we understand, but two new Ministers. I do not think the Government can justify this, when it is closing schools, hospitals and health centres, where old people go for respite care during the day.
Mr Collaery: Shame!
MRS GRASSBY: No, it is not shame. The point is that you are doing this, yet you are still wanting to spend more money, as I say, on not one but two Ministers. As for them telling us that it will not cost any more money, let me tell you, Mr Speaker, that it reminds me of those wonderful phrases such as, "This will not really hurt" or "The cheque is in the mail" or "I am only here to help you" or "I am really upset. My mother-in-law went over the cliff in my new Mercedes" or the really awful one which is used, "Of course I will respect you in the morning". They are wonderful phrases. They say, "It is not going to cost a penny".
Mr Moore: Or "Of course we will vote against self-government".
MRS GRASSBY: And "Of course we will vote against this. Of course we do not believe in it". Mr Speaker, they are motherhood statements. We have heard them for years. They say, "It is not going to cost" when we know it is going to cost. We know that the Chief Minister has said that he does not agree with this, and we have had Mrs Nolan, "Honest Robyn", on her feet saying, "It will not cost anything, I am sure". But she said, "I do not agree with it", and I am sure she believes that.
Mr Berry: Don't go overboard.
MRS GRASSBY: No. If there is to be a new Minister, I am voting for Robyn; I have told her that. The waste of money is not accountable, and they cannot account for it.
Mr Collaery: We are still paying for the suite in Tuggeranong.
MRS GRASSBY: You can do something about that.
Mr Stefaniak: That is worth about a school.
MRS GRASSBY: Do not preach to us. You could very easily have done something about that the moment you came into government. You could have stopped that going ahead. So do not worry about that. You took over the Government. That was not from my department, and I would not have recommended that the money be spent on it. If you looked at my expense account when I was Minister, or Wayne's expense account, or that of the Chief Minister, you would find that there was no moving to new offices and there was no money wasted. Let us get it straight now.
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