Page 2616 - Week 09 - Thursday, 8 August 1991
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Canberrans who cannot speak in this Assembly. I do not know whether that will be addressed by anybody who takes the opportunity to speak on this matter, when they come back.
The situation is that it is a quite large increase that we are getting - 16 per cent odd. There are other benefits coming through as well. They are not the sorts of increase and benefits that most Canberrans can expect. So, I make the point in all sincerity that, in this issue, we should do what the people of Canberra want us to do. There has been a great deal of talk about representing people in Canberra, listening to the community, giving the people an opportunity to answer questions, and so on. But, if we only say the words without taking the actions, how on earth can people in Canberra believe that we are genuine in what we say?
I will make the point clear, as I know someone will certainly bring up the matter of whether I will accept the pay rise. With the last pay increase, I said that I would not personally use any of it, and I will not. I believe that in the last year I spent in excess of $10,000 doing what I felt was the best job I could in representing the people of Canberra, by putting regular ads in the newspaper, paying for postage - we all have that problem, I am well aware - putting on public meetings and various other things to try to keep people in this community informed when there is a problem and doing so particularly for certain points of view, such as the opposition to fluoride, the opposition to X-rated videos, the representation of people in the community and other specific matters. It is very hard to get the full facts known and across to the people in Canberra, but I have certainly done what I can.
With the current pay increase, the money has gone into a separate account, and once again it will be used on behalf of the people of Canberra in the best way I can possibly think of using it.
Mr Kaine: To get Dennis Stevenson re-elected.
MR STEVENSON: No, it is not at all to get Dennis Stevenson re-elected, Mr Kaine. Perhaps I should have made the statement that the then Leader of the Opposition - obviously I have to specify which one it was; it was Gary Humphries - said that it is a bad time to take a pay increase, and he suggested that the Liberal Party would not do it. However, he was also reported, although not as well, as saying that if the Labor Party - the Government, as he calls it - took it the Liberal Party would, too. I think many people would feel that it is a bit of a cop-out. I think they would feel that, if the members of this Assembly want to take the pay rise, they should do so, which is why I brought the matter up. If people want to take it, by all means let them have the opportunity to present the debate to the people of Canberra and say why they are taking it.
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