Page 3477 - Week 11 - Thursday, 14 October 1993
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Mr Berry: No; Labor is on a winner here.
MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Berry says, "Labor is on a winner here". Mr Berry, you wish.
Mr Humphries: Mr Popularity.
MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Popularity. Mr Berry says that Labor is on a winner. Everything that Mr Berry touches, Mr Deputy Speaker, goes sour, and his mates behind him know that. Everything that this bloke touches goes sour. He is the greatest political pyromaniac in this Assembly. Mr Deputy Speaker, with the greatest respect, it is Labor federally that has increased the price of petrol. It is Labor here in the ACT that continues to increase the price of petrol. When are they going to wake up to themselves?
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (11.26): The lesson that the Liberal Party obviously learned from their rejection by the people in the last Federal election is that the role of the Opposition is not to attempt to put a rational policy before the people, not to attempt to cost your promises and to come up with something rational; it is just to engage in platitudes, populism and promises such as, "You do not like a tax; we will abolish it", "You would like more services; we will give you more services", or "You want more subsidies; we will spend more on subsidies".
Mr Humphries gets up this morning and he says, "We do not like petrol taxes; they are ripping off the motorist; we will abolish them". With one stroke of the pen he will abolish $26m worth of taxes. That is, as Mr Lamont pointed out, 540 teachers; but, of course, you do not want us to sack any teachers. You want us to employ more, according to Mr Cornwell in this morning's paper. To put it even closer to Mr Humphries's heart, $26m works out to precisely half of the police budget. So shall we slash the police budget by 50 per cent to cover our $26m? Or do we have to pay for it at all? What is the approach of Mrs Carnell, the chief issuer of platitudes and populist pap in this Assembly? I thought it was an embarrassing gaffe that she made on ABC radio, but she keeps repeating it. Her approach is, "You just need to spend more money. Just spend more money; it is not a problem".
Mrs Carnell: That is not what I said.
MR CONNOLLY: You said it again this morning, Mrs Carnell - "All it takes is money". Mr Deputy Speaker, I do not know how you can hold your head up in a party which takes this absurd populist pap approach to issues of public finance.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: You are not reflecting on the Chair, I hope.
MR CONNOLLY: Not on your performance as Chair, Mr Deputy Speaker. The public are not stupid; the public are not fools. Politicians who promise the world, saying, "You want more spending; we will give you more spending. You do not like taxes; we will abolish your taxes", are regarded as a joke by the public. If the Liberals think they are making a point here they are woefully mistaken. Mr Humphries's brave performance - - -
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