Page 3074 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 10 September 1991
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But what is this Government going to do? It is going to take the $53m that we got out of the transition fund and blow every cent of it in this fiscal year, and it is saying, "We are not going to make any borrowing". That is illogical. It does not fit into any rational program of government expenditures. It does not fit into any logical government program of borrowing. It does not fit into any logical program of ensuring stability in the construction program in the ACT that leads to stability on the part of the small business in the construction field that relies on it.
This proposal by the Labor Government, if they put it into effect and ignore the recommendations of this committee, is going to result in further unemployment. It is going to result in further bankruptcy in small businesses that depend on the ACT capital works program to keep them going. It is going to further degrade the ACT economy to the point, I suggest, where some elements of the construction industry are unlikely to revive for years, and all Mrs Grassby can say is that we have a bankcard mentality.
I do not think that the small businesses out there that are waiting for this boom to drop, and the people out there who are going to be unemployed in a few months when this boom drops, are going to be much impressed by the bankcard mentality argument. They are not going to be much impressed by the "borrow now and pay later" proposition that the Labor Party is putting forward, because that is a legitimate process of government in order to maintain some order or semblance of stability in our local economy.
This is one way they can do it; this is one way the Government can show that they are economically and financially responsible; that they do understand our economy. They have shown no indication so far that they have any understanding of it. Here they have some rational recommendations to put stability and order into our economy, to provide some employment for our work force and to provide some sustenance for our small business, particularly in the construction field.
I do not believe that the Government can take the view expressed by Mrs Grassby in her dissenting report, sensibly and honestly put that into effect, and at the same time say to the community, "We are being responsible and we are looking after you; we are interested in the ACT community". The two things are mutually exclusive. Mr Speaker, I will go so far as to say that I beg this Government to reconsider their view, if Mrs Grassby's dissenting report accurately presents it. I beg them to reconsider that view in the interests of this community, in the interests of the potential unemployed and in the interests of the small businesses in the construction field that are going to go out of business if they proceed with the line suggested by Mrs Grassby.
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