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There was a rather skilful backflip in Tuesday's speech which was executed by Mrs Carnell with all the skill of a graduate of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. We now discover, to our surprise, that the Liberal Party supports a fast train to Sydney. This is the same fast train which was so ridiculed by this Government when it was in opposition, when they were strident in their criticism of our decision to contribute to the feasibility studies on both the Tilt-train and Speedrail.

Mrs Carnell: We always supported it; you know that.

MS FOLLETT: Interjections to the contrary are blatant untruths, Mr Speaker.

Mr Humphries: I raise a point of order. Mr Speaker, to say on the floor of the Assembly that someone is telling an untruth is out of order. If Ms Follett does not know that by now, she never will.

MR SPEAKER: Ms Follett, I would ask you to withdraw the “blatant untruths” comment.

MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, my comment was “interjections”. I did not attribute it to any member.

Mr Humphries: It was in response to an interjection from Mrs Carnell. It was clearly directed at Mrs Carnell's comments, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: In the interests of getting on with this, could you withdraw - - -

MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, in the interests of my getting on with my speech, I would ask you to stop those opposite baying like a pack of hounds.

MR SPEAKER: I most certainly will.

MS FOLLETT: I could not tell who was interjecting. That was why I made a general comment. The light rail proposal, which was so skilfully and responsibly handled by the previous Urban Services Minister, David Lamont, to the chagrin of the Liberals who again mocked it continuously, suddenly has their support now. But, then, transport is not the greatest strength of this Government, epitomised as it is by Mr Humphries’s obsession with getting his helicopter at any cost. If he wins that one in Cabinet, Mrs Carnell's budget will look even sicker than it is going to now.

To return to the issue of privatisation, or corporatisation as the Liberals euphemistically prefer to call it: Let there be no mistake, corporatisation to this Liberal Government is their pseudonym for creeping privatisation. It is the same, failed conservative agenda that has been tried and found to be cruelly wanting in other States and other countries during the 1980s and the early years of this decade. The Chief Minister talks of ACTEW and ACTION being “competitive with similar entities in other States”. What a brilliant philosophy! How is the Sydney Water Board to provide Canberra with its water; or the Brisbane City Council, our bus service? What a lot of nonsense! But, then, commonsense has never been a prerequisite for a seat on the front bench of this Government. Whatever the jargon, no matter whether the words are “contracting out”,

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