Page 1090 - Week 04 - Thursday, 1 April 1993
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The union movement of the right-wing political faction reckon that he is a dill; that he cannot handle his portfolio. As I said, they are not alone in that, because everything that Mr Berry touches is dynamite. It is fantastic. One does not wonder, because Mr Berry's former profession was that of a fireman. Mr Deputy Speaker, I am suggesting that Mr Berry is the greatest political pyromaniac that this town will ever experience, whether it is health, whether it is industrial relations, whether it is sport or whether it is anything he touches.
I am sure that Mr Connolly would agree with that because if there is someone who has been battered in all this it is Mr Connolly once again. I feel sorry for Mr Connolly because, as I said, he attempts to do the right thing time and time again, but once again he has been chopped off at the knees. He has not got the numbers; he has not got the support. He has been pushed from pillar to post by everybody because of this man over here in front of him, Mr Berry, not even having the support of all the trade union movement. It is interesting because Mr Berry, in answer to a question I asked him on notice, said to me that there were 13 unions involved with ACTEW. Mr Berry will stand up here and say, "Listen, we want mirror agreements - - -
Mr Berry: No, I said that 15 unions have signed up.
MR DE DOMENICO: If Mr Berry would listen, Mr Deputy Speaker, before interjecting, I repeat that in answer to a question on notice some time ago Mr Berry informed me that there were 13 unions involved in ACTEW. Mr Berry will stand up in a minute and he will talk about mirror agreements with the Federal Public Service and all this sort of thing; but let me suggest to Mr Berry that there may be differences in what people who are members of the Federated Clerks Union and who work for ACTEW would want in terms of an enterprise agreement and, say, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union. For Mr Berry to say that, across the board, he wants everybody to settle under the same mirror agreement is sheer nonsense, because the ACTU do not agree with Mr Berry, Mr Peter Robson does not agree with Mr Berry, Senator Cook does not agree with Mr Berry, Laurie Brereton does not agree with Mr Berry and, more importantly, Mr Connolly does not agree with Mr Berry. As I said, I am suggesting that this will not be the last time that this will happen.
This is all about a demarcation, as I said, Mr Deputy Speaker, between two unions of two different factions within the labour movement. It is all about a demarcation dispute between two Ministers of different factions within a Labor government. It is all about the failure of the Chief Minister to intervene in order to prevent the ACT public from being used as political footballs. Finally, the people who are going to be paying the cost for this internal ACT Labor Party factional fight are the people out there, the members of the public who not only stand to lose half a million dollars but also may be without power and water for some considerable time. That is all because this Government says a lot of things but does not practise what it preaches.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (4.42): I have to say that, judging by Mr De Domenico's knowledge of the Labor Party, it is not the same party that I belong to. If all that went on in the Labor Party were such as Mr De Domenico has described, we would not be able to get people in the halls and we would have to charge for entry. What an exciting place!
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