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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (21 February) . . Page.. 148 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

This is a motion that deserves and will get the support of members, and I am sure that it will send a strong message to the Carnell Government that the sort of arrogance that they have displayed in this industrial dispute should be a thing of the past. I see that last evening Mrs Carnell continued to negotiate with the Australian Education Union, despite her threat that she would not.

Mrs Carnell: No. I said that I would not negotiate with the TLC. I am happy to negotiate with individual unions.

MR BERRY: It is the peak union body that she is upset about. Mrs Carnell has been spitting venom at the TLC, the Trades and Labour Council of the ACT, today as if they were an identity all to themselves. Of course, they are not. They are an umbrella organisation for the trade union movement of the ACT. The Trades and Labour Council has been coordinating this dispute and, I have to say, has been doing a fine job. They have pulled the unions together and provided them with a mechanism to defend their wages and working conditions.

Mrs Carnell: Do you actually think they are doing a good job and this is good for Canberra?

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell says, "Do you think they are doing a good job?". Do you think you have done a good job, Mrs Carnell? I do not think there are many people out there who think you have.

Mrs Carnell: I have not put in place one ban.

MR BERRY: Mrs Carnell says that she has not put in place one ban. She has banned negotiations with unions unless they drop all their industrial disputes.

Mrs Carnell: No; it was six of their 106.

MR BERRY: Six out of 106. Lies, lies and damned statistics! It is the old routine again. Before Mr Humphries drags himself to his feet, I withdraw that. Damned statistics; the misuse of statistics again; spitting venom. This is another example of how you do not deal with an industrial dispute: Climb up and put on the public record your venom about the person that you are supposed to be negotiating with. What a mug to do that! That is just asking for it.

Mrs Carnell: They have never said anything about me, have they?

MR BERRY: I am not surprised that they are responding. First of all, the Government demands that they accept compulsory redundancies, that is, sackings. Mr De Domenico follows it up with, "I will lock you out if you misbehave". What do you expect? Mrs Carnell says, "We are going to make it harder for you to belong to a union and to pay your union dues; and here is how you resign". The unions say, "Gee, she is being friendly today! What a jolly good Chief Minister we have here!". That is the craziness of the situation. You cannot create an environment like that.

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