Page 1820 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 19 August 1992
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The national media like to take pot shots at this place. Some of our journalists seem to be paid to be critical, and they are very good at it. It does not help us much to be here defending ourselves all the time; but I think most of the people in the ACT would say to themselves, "We are onto a good thing here; we are going to protect it, and the rest of you ought to aim for those sorts of high ideals". That is why the Labor Party will continue to defend the ACT, but we will continue to expose what the Liberals are on about when they talk about their dreadful "frightpack".
MR DE DOMENICO (11.31): Mr Deputy Speaker, I rise with pleasure to support the motion put forward by Mr Kaine - - -
Mr Lamont: Okay; next speaker.
MR DE DOMENICO: I will attempt, Mr Deputy Speaker, not to listen to the idiotic interruptions from the other side of the house. Mr Berry wants us to put our cards on the table. I will remind Mr Berry that when Mr Tim Fischer, two or three months ago, rang up or said certain things about the ACT it was not - - -
Mr Lamont: Your Federal mate.
MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Lamont says, "A Federal mate". I gladly agree with you, Mr Lamont; he is a good mate of mine and he is a Federal member of parliament. I rang the radio station - not Mr Berry, and not you, Mr Lamont - and I abused Mr Fischer, as I would have abused Senator Button, because from time to time Senator Button has been known to say bad things about the ACT, or anybody else - Liberal, Labor, Phil Cleary, Callithumpian, or whoever else spoke against the ACT.
Mr Lamont: What seat does he represent?
MR DE DOMENICO: I do not know. There will be many more Phil Clearys in the Labor seats after the next election. I will stand up, Mr Deputy Speaker, and defend the ACT, notwithstanding who might denigrate the ACT. Let us get that point quite clear. Mr Berry stood up and used words like "hypocrisy" and all that sort of thing. Let the hypocrisy lie where it deserves to lie - over on the other side of the house as well. Let us get fair dinkum. Mr Berry talks about getting fair dinkum all the time. We will get fair dinkum.
No-one has talked about what initiatives we can take, as members of this Assembly, in the avenues we frequent, to stop this Canberra bashing. Mr Deputy Speaker, this sort of situation is not new. People may recall that last year the Canberra Business Council were very concerned about the Canberra-bashing situation. They did not stand up here and talk about it, though; they did something about it. Once again, the Canberra Business Council took the initiative; they invited Federal journalists to a lunch at the Hyatt Hotel. They also invited many of us who are here today. They put their money where their mouth is and did something about it. Talk is very cheap; but the Canberra Business Council, the private sector, a very important part of our community, a majority of our community, did something about it. When Mr Berry starts talking about hypocrisy and whatever, let him put the facts straight, let him put his cards on the table as well, but all the cards, and say that there are a lot of things being done already.
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