Page 1700 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 30 April 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR HUMPHRIES: I understand. He is cranky because he has lost his tow bar. That explains Mr Berry's position. That is clear enough.
There is a policy of restraint in the Government, notwithstanding what those opposite say. We consider carefully the need to make those trips. I might say that, in my view, on occasions there were decisions made by the Follett Government not to attend national meetings which were against the interests of the ACT. I attended meetings of the Australian Health Ministers Conference and the Australian Education Council, and I was surprised to discover that I was the first Minister from the ACT to attend either of those meetings. Of course, when the Follett Government came into office it was the first time that the ACT had become a member of either of those bodies, and I have to say that I think it was churlish of the Opposition, when in government, not to make an appearance at the first meeting of either of those bodies.
I think it was most regrettable that there was no attendance by the ACT at those very first meetings where we were admitted to those bodies. That was a matter of regret too, I think, to those people. I think the meeting of the Health Ministers Conference occurred in June 1989. I think that is approximately the date. And there was a meeting some time around October or November of the Education Council. It seems to me that either Mr Berry or Mr Whalan could easily have attended and spoken on behalf of the ACT. I think it is churlish to be admitted to a body and not bother to send ministerial representation for the very first meeting. They could have declined to go to others; that would be fine. But for the first meeting they ought to have been there, in my view.
So we can see that there are all sorts of hypocrisy going on on the part of the Opposition. No doubt also they failed to mention to their admirers to whom they send these speeches the fact that there was an airline strike on in 1989, preventing a lot of ministerial travel anyway. They failed to mention that fact; and, of course, they are setting for themselves a standard which they cannot keep when they next go back into government, whenever that might be - if they ever go back into government. We know that they cannot possibly sustain the low levels of travel that they sustained on the last occasion. They will be going up to two, three or four hundred per cent on the level of travel they used to do in 1989, and of course they will get stick from the Opposition, no doubt, at that time.
Clause agreed to.
Remainder of Bill, by leave, taken as a whole, and agreed to.
Bill agreed to.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .