Page 5760 - Week 18 - Tuesday, 10 December 1991
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circulating in the Belconnen area, bearing the name of the Deputy Chief Minister, and also funded, apparently, from the public purse. I ask the Chief Minister: How many times does her name need to appear on such literature before it constitutes electioneering self-promotion? Will she issue guidelines to curtail the abuse of publicly funded literature promoting the names and photographs of her Ministers?
Mr Berry: Are you suggesting that that was abuse?
MR HUMPHRIES: I am.
MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, I thank Mr Humphries for the question. I can understand Mr Humphries' embarrassment over the whole issue of the Ainslie Transfer Station. I can understand the embarrassment of the then Minister who made the extremely foolish and thoughtless decision to close the Ainslie Transfer Station, completely flying in the face of the needs and the express wishes of the people in that local area, and involving the local people in both inconvenience and additional expense in having to visit other tips and having to make other arrangements for their recycling needs.
It was, as I say, a decision that involved the people themselves in considerable expense; but obviously you do not care about that. It was also, of course, one of the issues on which I have had constant representations ever since the Alliance Government closed the transfer station. I take the view, and my whole Government takes the view - - -
Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order. Ms Follett has been speaking about the question of closing or opening the Ainslie Transfer Station. My question did not actually raise that issue. It raised the question of literature sent out about that issue and other issues promoting herself and her Government's Ministers.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Humphries, that is not a point of order. Please proceed, Chief Minister.
MS FOLLETT: Thank you, Mr Speaker. My Government takes the view that people have the right to know about issues that are important to them. Given the number of representations I have had on this matter, I believe that it was only fair and appropriate to let people know what was going on. As Mr Humphries said, the cost of letting them know was $1,334. I would like to advise Mr Humphries that that worked out at just under 9c per household in the area affected - in other words, much cheaper than sending them a letter. If you add to that the fact that we got the front page of the Canberra Times thrown in for nothing, I think it was quite good value.
Mr Connolly: Thank you, Mr Humphries.
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