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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 58 ..

Mr Berry: No; you support the Government.

MR OSBORNE: You stopped it, and I cannot tell the Government to give the unions 9 per cent. I cannot do it.

Mr Berry: Cut it out. Nobody swallows that.

MR OSBORNE: Read Hansard. I tried to amend the budget, Mr Moore tried to amend the budget, and you blocked us.

Mr Berry: You are giving front rowers a bad reputation, Ossie.

MR OSBORNE: I think I am giving front rowers a good reputation, Mr Berry, because I am showing that front rowers can think and remember. Wingers like you have this hazy view of what happened in the past. You stopped us.

Mr Berry: I never played on the wing. I was a front rower.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Osborne, if I may continue the analogy, somebody will be in the sin-bin if the interjections continue.

MR OSBORNE: Mr Speaker, I am still prepared to amend the budget if this coalition can be broken. As for this motion, I am not prepared to support it. If I am asked to intervene personally, I think both sides need to have a good look at themselves. As I have said before, it has been only eight months and the previous Government took 18.

MS FOLLETT (Leader of the Opposition) (3.56): Mr Speaker, I believe that I will be closing the debate. I would like to address many of the issues raised in the course of this debate, which has been fairly lengthy, and I will do so somewhat in reverse order because I think the comments made by both Mr Moore and Mr Osborne are worthy of response right away. This Assembly should know that both Mr Moore and Mr Osborne have at least intimated to the Labor Opposition that they would support the censure motion if Labor were to agree to their proposals for amendment to the budget. In my view, that is blackmail. In my view, that is a matter of privilege which you may want to look into.

Mr Moore: That is a misunderstanding. It is not what you were offered.

MS FOLLETT: Mr Speaker, I have the floor, and I would ask that you examine that as a matter of privilege.

MR SPEAKER: Ms Follett, I think I understood you correctly. You said that two members may have intimated that they would support the motion under certain conditions; is that correct?

MS FOLLETT: Indeed.

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