Page 746 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 12 March 1991
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Chief Minister's own figures, in spite of the fact that he likes to present them in the nicest possible way. The reality is - on the evidence that the Chief Minister presented - that we are talking of $12m as far as Mr Humphries' portfolio is concerned. If you are looking at a comparison to - - -
Mr Humphries: It is not true.
MR MOORE: They are the figures that the Chief Minister presented. We have still to combine those with Community Services if you are going to do a comparison with Mr Berry. I say that, at that time, Mr Berry's management was totally inadequate. How much worse is it for Mr Humphries who took him to task? Mr Humphries said, "These are the things that need to be done. If I was Minister, I would do them". Now he is the Minister, and he has not done them. He has failed. Mr Berry did not come into government saying that his would be the financially responsible government. He probably ought to have said it, but that was not a stand that he took. The Liberal and Alliance Government stance was, "We are going to manage for the people of Canberra their money and we are going to manage it well. We are going to have to make hard decisions".
If you have made hard decisions, you made the wrong ones, because your budget has blown out. It has blown out in the extreme. It has blown out worse than Mr Berry's budget. You claimed that he was incompetent, and I agree. Mr Berry has now returned. I would not like to say that behind his back. He will read it in Hansard later. What you were asking at that time was, "Why did not Mr Berry resign at the time?". If you are not going to be a hypocrite, Mr Humphries, you have to resign. You have to resign as a Minister if you do not wish to be a hypocrite.
Mr Humphries: We never asked him to resign.
MR MOORE: You certainly asked him to resign at the time.
Mr Humphries: No, I did not. When? Dates, evidence? When did I ask him to resign?
MR MOORE: I am quite happy to bring it to your attention. You said that it was reason enough to topple a government on the hospital crisis. Your words were that it was reason enough to topple a government. If you look at your speech to the motion of no confidence in the previous Chief Minister, you said that it was enough to topple a government. Surely it is enough - if you do not wish to be a hypocrite - for you to resign your portfolio for your failure to achieve what you set as your goals. That is also in spite of the fact that you had the foreknowledge, and that you have had more than double the time and, in fact, you have also had more advice about it.
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