Page 2620 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 1994
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That was a straight quote. This is the view of one observer of the Follett Labor Government in the wake of the VITAB disaster. It is a view shared by many - a view of incompetence, mismanagement, naivety, greed and amateurism.
Not once has this Government apologised to the people of Canberra for the VITAB affair. Back in November you were climbing over each other trying to take credit for this supposedly wonderful deal. It was a deal that you wanted the Government to take credit for. Now, all you can do is duck for cover and blame others. Today is your opportunity to apologise - to apologise for sending us up the creek without a paddle because your incompetence and your greed blinded you to what was a bad deal for the people of the ACT. Amazingly, there are still one or two people left on this planet who walk around claiming that VITAB was a good deal for the ACT. One of them usually sits opposite. Of course, Mr Berry is not here at the moment. I think it is important to remind everyone of what Mr Berry said about the VITAB deal. He said:
It is safe for the ACT and it returns a profit, so that is good news on both scores.
He also said:
The deal that was offered to us was profitable for the Territory, and is profitable for the Territory ... and it is going very well.
He also said this:
What has happened is that the ACT Labor Government has struck a good deal ...
That was another wonderful Berryism. Then he said this:
We know a good deal when we see one. What we also did, and what I personally was involved in, was to make sure that the deal was safe with respect to the Territory.
The only other people on this planet who think it was a good deal, of course, are the principals of VITAB who walked away with over $3m in taxpayers' money for a few months' work. One of the players in VITAB - - -
Mr Humphries: You should be ashamed of yourselves.
MRS CARNELL: They certainly should. Mr Deputy Speaker, I will remind Mr Berry and his comrades of what Mr Bob Hawke said about the VITAB contract on the very day it was announced. He said, "It will reflect credit on the ACT and just perhaps produce a modest little return for a few battlers". It was absolutely amazing.
Mr De Domenico: We believed him, did we not? We all believed him.
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