Page 2183 - Week 07 - Thursday, 6 June 1991
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
Indeed, Mr Speaker; and that is exactly what is offered to the Territory today by this motion. I will listen with great interest to the arguments that the Opposition uses to distinguish Labor generated uncertainty from Alliance generated uncertainty.
Of course, the basis for this motion is the Government's supposed failings in the areas of health and education, and Labor has criticised, I think it is fair to say - - -
Ms Follett: And planning.
MR HUMPHRIES: Well, all right, planning as well; but I am going to talk about health and education. Labor, I think it is fair to say, has criticised every step this Government has taken in the areas of health and education, and probably in the area of planning as well. I think it needs to be pointed out, however, that throughout those criticisms, throughout those unrelenting criticisms of the Government's position on those matters, Labor has never once, to my knowledge, to my recollection, spelt out or costed its alternatives to the Government's policies, and today, an hour into the debate on this no-confidence motion, having heard two speakers from the Opposition, we still do not know where they stand on those questions. We still do not know what the alternatives are.
I think, Mr Speaker, the least thing that could be said about this Government is that people do know where they stand. They understand very clearly what our position is on schools and hospitals, on planning, and on other issues. They do not know that position with respect to the Labor Party and, in particular, they do not know where this alternative government sitting opposite would find the money to pay for the promises it is now making to the electorate of Canberra.
Labor has capitalised relentlessly on the painful decisions that this Government has taken. It has pretended that it would do differently if it were in government, but I think we have to ask ourselves how credible is that claim. Since this motion of no confidence was put on the notice paper last week the Follett Opposition have become medal contenders in the Olympic sport of back-pedalling. The promises to restore schools and hospitals closed by the Alliance have been rephrased, qualified or scrapped.
We were told at first that Labor would reopen any school that the community sought to have reopened. I might say that no details have ever been provided as to how the community's view on this important matter was to be discerned. Never have we been told how we will establish what communities actually want. Nonetheless, we then heard, some days afterwards, that, other than Cook and Lyons, the alternative Follett Government would probably not be able to reopen any schools. Now, we have to ask the question, "Why have the others fallen by the wayside? On what basis have the other schools not received the same guarantees that Cook and Lyons have received?".
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .