Page 811 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 13 March 1991
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Government, and I have to say that, particularly as far as my portfolios are concerned, the picture as presented by the facts is very different indeed.
Looking first of all at the area of education, Mr Speaker, there is no doubt at all that, if one casts one's mind back to the seven months of Labor administration during 1989, for all that could be said about that period, one thing stands out very clearly, and that is that that period was one of great industrial disputation and chaos in the ACT. There is no doubt about it and the facts support that. In the field of education I am alleged to be the great wrecker, the great destroyer and the great disrupter of education in the ACT. It is interesting to note, however, Mr Speaker, that in the seven months of the Follett Government more than 4,300 days were lost due to industrial action - 4,300 days in the supposedly calm and tranquil period of Ms Follett's administration.
During the subsequent 15 months of Alliance Government administration - more than twice the period of Ms Follett's Government - less than 1,300 days were lost due to industrial disputation in the education area. It is less than one-third of the industrial days lost, despite the length of the period of government under Mr Kaine being more than twice that under Ms Follett. That is a very interesting fact and one which is very hard to argue around. But, of course, Mr Berry attempts to do that and I think that this is just one more example of how it is so easy to frighten people, so easy to distort the facts and to create a quite wrong impression about what is going on in the ACT at the present time. Mr Speaker, I will come to the health system in just one moment.
I think it is worth noting that much has been made of individual disputes and individual industrial problems during the life of the Government, but in fact the overall record of the Government on industrial relations is very good indeed. To the chagrin of those opposite, this Liberal led Government, this Government consisting of independents and members of a community based party, this coalition of groups has, in fact, established a very good working relationship with the union movement in the ACT.
The proof of that is in the sort of facts that I have been able to quote today, the evidence of lesser levels of industrial activity than was the case under a so-called union friendly Government in the form of Ms Follett's Government. Mr Berry, in particular, made great play of the nurses dispute at the start of last year. If that is what he relies on to challenge the Alliance Government's capacity to provide competent industrial relations management, he really demonstrates that over the last year the Government has been effective in industrial relations.
In the health area there have been major restructurings in the hospital system, as well as award restructuring, that will obviously generate important savings for the health
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