Page 3335 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 24 November 1992
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MR BERRY: No, you do not want to say it, because that is the hidden agenda. That is the way the Liberals operate. The Liberals lied to the people in Victoria and then stole their wages and conditions from them.
Mr De Domenico: I raise a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. I heard the Minister say that we will lie.
MR BERRY: You did in Victoria.
Mr Connolly: He said that the Liberals lied in Victoria.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, that is true, Mr De Domenico. It was not a reflection on anybody in this house, was it, Mr Berry?
MR BERRY: No, it was not. But it was true.
Mr De Domenico: Mr Deputy Speaker, I suggest that he withdraw that statement.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: It was not a reflection on anybody in this house. Mr Berry, would you continue your comments, please.
MR BERRY: I would not reflect on people, Mr Deputy Speaker - unless they deserved it, that is. In relation to micro-economic reform, I think a whole range of issues can be trumpeted as successes for self-government. They are successes for the Labor Party, but they are successes for self-government as well. They are not necessarily ordered in priority, but they are things that ought to be mentioned in the course of this debate.
The Workmen's Compensation Act has been substantially amended to facilitate administration of the Act. A review of workers compensation was initiated by the first Follett Government. That was necessary in the context of trying to achieve micro-economic reform in the ACT. It showed that some insurance companies were doing pretty well at the expense of ACT business. An ongoing review was carried out and the Insurance Council of Australia, to their credit, ended up supporting a 20 per cent reduction in recommended rates following the report which arose from the review. That was an important matter for the people of the ACT.
Mr De Domenico: That was done under an Alliance government, by the way, not under a Labor government.
MR BERRY: No. The review of workers compensation was initiated by the first Follett Government - a plug for the Labor Party, but a plug for self-government as well. You have been part of self-government in the Territory. You can take some of the credit, but not much. The Holidays Act was amended to ensure consistent and equitable treatment of all workers in the ACT. It worked well, and it works well.
Mr Kaine: Yes; until you ran into Boxing Day 1992.
MR BERRY: They bleed opposite.
Ms Follett: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker: Standing orders 39 and 61 preclude members from continually interrupting the speaker. I ask for your protection of the Minister in his remarks.
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