Page 1841 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 June 1993
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MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (10.03): Madam Speaker, the Government will be opposing this move to adjourn debate on this issue. It is too important to ACTTAB to delay progress on the matter. It is a piece of legislation which will, as I said in the in-principle debate, bring stability to ACTTAB and - - -
Mr Cornwell: Do you mean that it is unstable now?
MR BERRY: There is an element of instability, Madam Speaker, and it has to be cleared up.
Mr Humphries: Well, what is it?
Mr Westende: What is it?
MADAM SPEAKER: Order!
MR BERRY: Once this legislation is passed, stability will return. The suggestion that the matter be drawn out will add nothing to the quality of services delivered by ACTTAB. It may give the Liberals more opportunities to undermine it. As far as the Government is concerned, this Bill has been around for eight months, and it was not until this very day that a proposal to delay it came from the Liberals.
Mr De Domenico: How long has this Bill been around?
Mr Cornwell: It was introduced on only 20 May.
MR BERRY: I am sorry; I withdraw that. If we refer to the documents that have no standing at all that have been referred to by Mr De Domenico, they are about eight months old.
Mr De Domenico: You disown all those documents, do you? On the record, do you disown all those documents?
MR BERRY: They have no standing. Whose signature is on the front of it? They have no standing.
Mr Kaine: You ought to be careful. Some of them have your signature on them.
MR BERRY: The documents that you refer to as Cabinet documents have no standing. My signature was not on the front of it. Was my signature on it? No siree. Madam Speaker, this legislation has been around since December.
Mr De Domenico: May. You introduced it on 20 May.
MR BERRY: I am sorry; this position has been around since December when we first announced it, seven months ago. There has been plenty of notice for the Liberals to move down this path if they had thought it was a good idea in the past. Madam Speaker, following its introduction there were no moves by the Liberals to do anything about it. This is merely a stunt and has to be ignored.
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