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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 500 ..

MR BERRY (3.25): I find it, frankly, unbelievable that members opposite accept none of the responsibility for the picket line that is around this place. Mr De Domenico gets near a radio microphone and cannot help himself. He has to call the workers greedy. That is intimidatory. Put Mrs Carnell in front of a television camera with a microphone in front of her face and she accuses the workers of being thugs. Mrs Carnell is the one who threatened to lock workers out of their jobs. There are no laws that require you to be couth; one knows that. The facts of the matter are that there are a whole bunch of workers out there who have their backs against the wall because of the policies of you lot, and that is why there is a goods and services picket line around this place.

I heard Mr Moore say that a few people had directed a few words at him. I have to say that it does not surprise me, because the unionists out there know that Mr Moore voted with the Government against a censure motion the other day.

Mr De Domenico: What do they expect to do? Hang him for it?

MR BERRY: No. You people have done everything you can to raise the temperature of that industrial dispute. If you put workers' backs against the wall, you get behaviour that is, if you like, abnormal. Being backed into a corner is not a normal position for people in the workplace. Mr Moore does not deserve any criticism for the outrageous comments you have made out in the community which have caused this industrial dispute.

Mr De Domenico: What comments?

MR BERRY: Fancy describing workers as greedy. Fancy accusing them of thuggery.

Mrs Carnell: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I am more than happy to debate this issue, but what we are talking about here is a tabling of executive contracts, and I have yet to hear Mr Berry make one comment about them.

MR BERRY: I will come to that.

MR SPEAKER: Order! It appears that this debate has branched out, as the Chief Minister pointed out, from the Public Sector Management Act 1994, section 30, presentation of contracts.

Mr Moore: On the point of order, Mr Speaker, the Chief Minister raised this topic as part of her speech. As such, our response to that part of her speech is entirely relevant and should be considered relevant. If she did not want us to do this, then she had to close her mouth about the issue. She got it going.

MR SPEAKER: Order! I do have to uphold the point of order because I recall that the Chief Minister adverted to the issue.

Mrs Carnell: With regard to getting the documents over the picket line.

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