Page 301 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 12 May 1992

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .


MR BERRY: I will withdraw that. Mrs Carnell repeatedly misleads the community of the ACT about what is going on in our health services, for cheap political reasons, for cheap political points.

Mr Kaine: Madam Speaker, I take a point of order. That is a clear imputation of lack of good faith on the part of a member of this Assembly - that she misleads. She does not mislead anybody. The people that are doing the misleading are the people over there. That should be withdrawn.

MADAM SPEAKER: I call Mr Berry.

MR BERRY: Clearly, the information provided to the community through the public utterances of the Liberal Party in relation to health has been misleading. One classic example of it today was the methadone program - "the methadone program is no good". Of course it is good. It might not be up to the standards that you want. It might not provide additional income for the pharmacists, and all those sorts of things; but it is a good program. Sure, it will be expensive and, sure, it warrants attention; but she said that it was no good. That is misleading.

Mr Kaine: As far as it goes, it is a good program. That is what Mrs Carnell has always said.

MR BERRY: "As far as it goes, it is a good program": "It is no good". There is a bit of a difference.

Mr Kaine: She did not say that it was no good. Stop misquoting.

MR BERRY: She said it in the paper. It is quoted in the paper - "It is no good".

Mr Kaine: Do you believe everything you read in the paper?

Mr De Domenico: Do you believe everything you read in the paper? I tell you what; they had some humdinger editorials about you, Mr Berry. I hope you believe those too. You were on the front page for about two weeks in a row.

MADAM SPEAKER: Order! Mr Berry has the floor.

MR BERRY: It is quoted. It has not been denied yet, so there we have it.

To cap it off, Mr De Domenico talks about how the Government has performed on workers compensation. His party is the party that wanted to throw sick workers out on the streets. That is what they tried to do, and now they are laughing at it. Your party moved to introduce termination of workers compensation payments at the will of employers and for the insurance companies. I understand it very clearly. What I am supportive of, and this Government will also be supportive of, is good rehabilitation policies. Indeed, I know that we have the best termination clauses for workers - - -

Mr De Domenico: We do not have any.

MR BERRY: That is right.

Mr De Domenico: That it would rip off the system does not matter, as long - - -


Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .