Page 487 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992
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harassment and threats that are sometimes a part of life. With that, Madam Speaker, again I commend the Government for accepting so readily that there is a need for an inquiry, and I commend Mr Cornwell for applying the blowtorch to bring them to that realisation.
MADAM SPEAKER: There are no more speakers. Therefore, the discussion is concluded.
PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services): Pursuant to standing order 46, I would like to make a very brief personal explanation. I have cleared this with Mr Cornwell. A matter that I should have addressed in my remarks on the MPI was the issue of answering questions in relation to Ainslie Village. I should set the record straight for Hansard. Mr Cornwell did place on notice some questions in relation to Ainslie Village. There was some toing-and-froing between officers of my department and Ainslie Village as to whether Ainslie Village had to answer questions by members of the Assembly in relation to the parts of the village's activities that are publicly funded. I think Mr Cornwell became aware of that and accepted an offer to get the information direct from Ainslie Village and, as a result, withdrew the questions.
My position, when I became aware of this toing-and-froing, was very firmly that Ainslie Village would answer questions and that if Mr Cornwell had left his questions on the notice paper he would have got his answers. I wanted to make that clear and also say that those persons from Ainslie Village who have been here to witness this debate have been fortunate enough to see a rare occasion on which there has been unanimity and the Assembly, in confronting a problem, has tackled it in a sensible manner.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer): Madam Speaker, I seek to make an explanation under standing order 46. In the course of question time Mr Kaine tabled a document entitled "Commonwealth-State financial arrangements: A position paper by Premiers and Chief Ministers", which Mr Kaine asserted I had put my name to. Madam Speaker, I want to clear up one issue, and that relates to the One Nation statement. In the executive summary of that document, under projections based on the One Nation statement economic assumptions, it states that the States will accumulate $28 billion in additional debt, and so on.
I want to make it very clear to members that it is based on the economic assumptions; it is not caused by the One Nation statement. Very briefly by way of explanation, could I say that one of the economic assumptions in the One Nation statement is, in fact, a low inflation rate. That means for the States a lower revenue than perhaps they had anticipated from things such as sales tax and payroll tax. It is important that we make the distinction that they are projections which are based on economic assumptions and not projections which are caused by the One Nation statement.
Mr Kaine: I am glad that you had a briefing on that point after I asked the question.
MS FOLLETT: No, I did not.
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