Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .
None . . Page.. 297 ..
that, time and time again, members of this Government will stand up and give credit where it is due, and if it is due. One would hope also that the Opposition will do the same thing when this Government makes a good decision, and we will be making a number of good decisions because we will be bringing the Assembly with us.
Mr Connolly talked about straw men or straw people or something. It was very interesting because Mr Connolly accused Mr Humphries of using some university debating techniques to build a straw man and then knock him down. I am afraid that it went over my head - that is not difficult, I know, but it went over my head anyway. Mr Connolly was doing exactly what he was accusing Mr Humphries of doing. They are both lawyers, so perhaps it is one of those hazards of studying law.
Mr Connolly's speech really told us what it is all about. Obviously, the Labor Party still cannot accept that on 18 February 1995 the community demanded change. It did not want to go right across and give majority government to the Liberal Party; but there is no doubt whatsoever that the community of the ACT on 18 February, and on 25 March as well, demanded change to the way it was being looked after by the then Government and the then members. That is as plain as day. I know that it is very difficult for some people to accept that; but change is what the community wanted, and change the community will get. It will be sensible change and it will be responsible change. I am sure that the community, for example, would not like us to continue with a Comcare workers compensation scheme just because of some ideological bent if it was costing us millions and millions of dollars more per year - - -
Mr Berry: You would know some people who would be prepared to take on the business, would you not?
MR DE DOMENICO: Yes - and if this Government and this Assembly were able to come up with an alternative scheme that would give the work force better cover than it has had and cost the community less. To me, there is nothing ideological about that; it just makes good sense. Time and time again, Mr Speaker, you will find that this Government will come up with ideas that we believe make good sense, we will put them forward to the community and to the Assembly, and we will allow this Assembly to make up its own mind. That is one major difference you will find under this Liberal Government from when this other mob opposite were in power.
It is all well and good for people opposite to say that when we were in opposition we used to bleat and moan. As Mr Keating once said, now that we have part of the levers in our hands - because we rely on the cross benches - the difference between this Government and the previous Government is that we will make decisions. All those decisions will be commonsense decisions, and we will talk about things. We will talk about rhetoric as well, but we will talk about things like choice and flexibility. Mr Berry smiles every time I use those two words; he chuckles. But if Mr Berry were to listen to the community he would realise that what the community also wants is choice and flexibility and commonsense. It wants its representatives to be able to change their minds, for example, if they see a commonsense argument put to them. It wants its representatives to take heed of what it has to say.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .