Page 1816 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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MR BERRY: This is about the Liberals saying one thing and meaning another, and testing their commitment to the people of the ACT. They move a motion like this, but I want to expose their lack of commitment to the ACT because of their support for the "frightpack". There is no question about it; the "frightpack" is bad news for the ACT. You cannot get away with standing up in this place and arguing that you are a great defender of the people of the ACT when you defend that dreadful package. That is the truth of the matter.
Mr Kaine: Is that all you are going to say? Are you just going to repeat that for the next election?
MR BERRY: No, I am going to say a few more things, all things that you will not want to hear. These people, the Liberals, are going to take a great number of our public servants interstate. Sure, that will change the balance of the public and private sectors in the ACT. The Liberals will ship them out. They have said, clearly, that they are going to do that. When you ship them out you will change the balance of the public and private sectors.
Of course, what you are not saying is that you will damage the private sector by taking away that very important employment base in the Australian Capital Territory. You just cannot get away with that. Not only will you rip into the public sector and damage the private sector as a result; you will then move to make it more difficult for the private sector. You will do it by way of an attack on the industrial relations policies in the ACT. You will thrust the Territory, with an excellent industrial relations record, into a state of conflict. You just cannot get away with that sort of stuff. Let us look at the industrial relations conditions in the ACT.
Mr Kaine: Mr Deputy Speaker, I take a point of order. I really must ask you to direct the Minister to be relevant in accordance with the standing orders. This is about media misrepresentation and he is talking about industrial relations that we are going to foist on the ACT. He is so far away from the point of debate that he is out of sight.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, I must uphold that point of order. We are not discussing industrial relations, Mr Berry. Would you please return to the motion that is before the house.
MR BERRY: We are not discussing industrial relations - - -
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, we are not.
MR BERRY: Mr Deputy Speaker, what we are discussing here is the indifference of the Liberal Party to the people of the ACT - - -
Mr De Domenico: I take a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. We are not discussing what the Liberal Party may or may not do to the people of the ACT. We are discussing a motion which concerns the headline in the Age newspaper on Thursday, 25 June, under, might I remind Mr Berry, a Labor government. It is not a Liberal government; it is a Labor government. We are prepared - - -
Mr Connolly: I take a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Is this a speech, a debate or a point of order? Get to the point of order.
Mr De Domenico: I have not finished yet. Sit down, Mr Connolly.
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