Page 2205 - Week 08 - Thursday, 10 September 1992
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Mr Deputy Speaker, there is not a matter of public importance before this chamber. This is a farce. The Liberals are trying to milk every drop out of something which has been blown out of all proportion with their assistance.
Mr Kaine: What do you mean by "with their assistance"? We didn't sool the police onto the Canberra Times.
MR BERRY: Who was it who read the Canberra Times letter into the record last evening? The Liberals have been the greatest bleaters when they have been criticised about anything. They bleat and whinge and cry. Witness Mrs Carnell's performance now that a well thought out, complete, better program has been proposed for the provision of services to the community.
Mrs Carnell: One that your department did not know anything about.
MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell complains and bleats and cries about something better being put on the agenda. Talk about whingers! If there is a bit of objective criticism of something that the Liberals put forward, all we hear is bleating and crying. She did not attempt to search out the issues which she has attempted to raise in her matter of public importance. It is quite clear that the Liberals could not be trusted to pursue an agenda which would be supported by the Labor Party. That is true - we would not allow you to do that. That is why we pursue an agenda which we have said is born out of social justice.
Mr Kaine: Like fixing the land tax Act after we started to do it.
MR BERRY: The land tax is a good tax.
Mr Kaine: It is all those greedy people that you are going to take the money from.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Relevance, members, please.
Mr Moore: The tax we share with the rich.
MR BERRY: Mr Moore agrees with me that the land tax is a good tax, and the Labor Party will be applauded for that. We react well to applause. As I have said to you before, we will continually introduce into this Territory laws which have a basis in social justice. We will be applauded for that and we will react favourably to that applause.
We have changed the laws in relation to access to health services for women in the ACT, and we were applauded for that. Even one of your own members applauded us for that. We will be applauded for many things we do. To say that we are being publicly criticised because our managers and our senior executive officers have pursued good management practices within their portfolios and have reported alleged breaches of the law to the police is a bit of an overstatement. It is a bit of an overstatement to say that the Labor Government has done something wrong. In fact, what has occurred is that sensible managers have made a decision about the management of their relevant bureaucracies, and they have reported alleged breaches of the law to the police. I understand that the Liberals would support the police pursuing legal matters and - - -
Mr Humphries: Not when they have been improperly referred to them.
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