Page 2441 - Week 09 - Thursday, 17 September 1992
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Mr Kaine: It is disgraceful.
MR DE DOMENICO: It is disgraceful. You are all cringing over it. You are all like shivers looking for spines to crawl up. That is what you deserve. That is the reality of life. Let us have a look at what the Canberra Times went on to say. It said:
... if only politicians would show some guts.
The Canberra Times - Ian Davis, in fact - called the budget a "coward's sleight of hand". We do not need to go to any film producers; the Canberra Times described it as a "coward's sleight of hand", and that is what it was.
Let us have a look at the unemployment figures. Ms Follett stood up in this place and said, "Listen, we are the best thing since sliced bread in this town and we are going to do everything we can to fix unemployment problems". She has done nothing at all about that. The ACT August ABS figures showed an unemployment fall of just 0.6 per cent in the ACT. In other words, there are still 12,700 people unemployed in Canberra. Youth unemployment rose, in fact, by 1.7 per cent, from 27 per cent in July to 28.7 per cent in August. There are 1,200 young people looking for work. Many have given up.
The Chief Minister agrees with me, I hope, that this budget was supposed to be about creating jobs in the ACT. I asked the Chief Minister the other day how many jobs are going to be created. We had some sort of answer this morning in the Canberra Times. I added them up and, if we are to believe the Chief Minister - as Mr Kaine said, it is very difficult to believe anything that this Government says - they total 1,141. This is if the Chief Minister is to be believed. If they all come to fruition - - -
Ms Follett: I take a point of order, Madam Speaker. I think Mr De Domenico's earlier remark about whether you can believe the Government is one matter, but whether you can believe me is another matter altogether, and I require that he withdraw that imputation.
MADAM SPEAKER: That is correct, Mr De Domenico. I have ruled that way before. I would ask you to withdraw the second of your comments, not the first.
MR DE DOMENICO: If this Government, led by this Chief Minister, is to be believed, Madam Speaker - - -
Ms Follett: Did he withdraw, Madam Speaker?
MADAM SPEAKER: Are you replacing that comment? Do you withdraw your comment?
MR DE DOMENICO: Yes, I withdrew, and I am replacing that.
MADAM SPEAKER: Thank you.
MR DE DOMENICO: If this Government, led by this Chief Minister, is to be believed, Madam Speaker, if we are to stretch the longbow and believe everything that this Government says, it may bring the unemployment level back to 11,559. What a wonderful thing to be walking around this town boasting
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