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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2487 ..

Mr Wood: Listen to this mate of Michael Moore's over there. "Do not touch Michael", he says.

Mr Hird: I did not say, "Do not touch Michael". He is quite right. Do not touch this bloke.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MR BERRY: I think he wants your job, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, there are enough people down there to prop up the Liberal Government. They are doing a good job. They have made a decision about it, but I wish they would be gracious enough to lie in the bed they have made for themselves. That is the real issue. We are not responsible for what the Liberals do in public transport; it is a matter which arises from their own ideological position. It is a log jam, if you like, and Mr Moore and company have to bear the responsibility for it. We will criticise them for that because - - -

Mr Moore: We are happy to do that. We will bear the responsibility for our actions.

MR BERRY: That is fine. If you are happy to do it, do not try to distort the facts by telling yourself a lie. The Opposition is not responsible for what the Government does; you are. You put them there; it is your job to prop up their budget. We accept that you will do that; but you have to wear the responsibility for what is going to happen to education - your favourite little subject - because already a school has been closed and you voted for it.

Mr Moore: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. You drew my attention to the fact that it was transport that was under discussion and brought me back to the buses.

MR SPEAKER: Order! We are discussing Division 90, Public Transport.

Ms Follett: What about the free school buses? What happened to the free school buses?

MR SPEAKER: What about a bit of relevance?

MR BERRY: I am glad you raised that, Ms Follett, because that had slipped my mind for just a moment. This is a public transport issue. They promised bus travel. Mr Moore will take a little time yet to convince himself that what he is going on with is true. Oppositions are not responsible for government policy; the government and those who support them are. We do not.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (12.18 am): I want to bring the debate back to the issue in question here, and that is public transport. The issue that we desperately need to address in this Assembly is where public transport is actually going in this city and whether we want more of the same. We on this side of the house, and I know that Mr Moore, the Greens and Mr Osborne agree, think that more of the same is not good enough in this area. What we need is an integrated public transport system; one that works and interfaces with our strategic plan for urban planning generally.

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