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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 3 Hansard (28 March) . . Page.. 767 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

I would say, out-and-out lies, because she did not have the money in the bag at all. So, Mr Speaker, we have a very clear situation, from the Hansard, of where Mrs Carnell had swaggered into this place and recklessly misled the Assembly.

Mrs Carnell: How was I supposed to know that your cost model was wrong?

MR BERRY: Because you are the Minister for Health, Mrs Carnell. You are the one that came in here and said that you had the savings. You created the atmosphere in this place and attempted to convince all of us that you had $2m in savings. There is no doubt about that when you read the Hansard. You, I think, deliberately tried to create the impression that you had the $2m in your pocket. You came in here, over and over again, crowing about it. This Assembly cannot be treated with contempt in that way, and it has a history of not being treated in that way. I do not think you ought to get away with it.

One of the things I heard earlier in this debate was the Deputy Chief Minister saying in relation to the motion of censure that it was "a couple more marshmallows". So that is the way the Government regards motions of censure. This Assembly's action - if it has the hide to disagree with the Government, catch it out and censure it - will be regarded as a couple of marshmallows. I say to you, Mr Speaker: If that is the attitude of this Government, it will not be here long - and that would be a good thing. (Extension of time granted)

We do not believe that Mrs Carnell is fit to govern. We do not believe that the Assembly should be led by a Liberal government, and we have made no secret about that from day one. On this occasion, we believe that we have demonstrated very clearly that Mrs Carnell has, over and over again, recklessly misled this Assembly, in an arrogant attempt to create the impression that a situation existed which clearly did not. Those are the facts of the matter. When Mrs Carnell says, "We have the savings", it is clear that you cannot believe her. When Mrs Carnell says that she is going to be a better health administrator, it is clear that you cannot believe her. When Mrs Carnell says that she has reached an agreement with the highest paid health workers in the Australian Capital Territory, it is clear that those savings are illusory. When Mrs Carnell and the Liberals do deals with the highest paid people in the health system, you can bet that it is going to cost the people of the ACT.

All of those factors might well be believed by the community; but when Mrs Carnell comes into this place and says that she has the money in the bag, when she says that she has the savings, she has proved that you have to take it with a grain of salt. But what is most insulting about this whole process, Mr Speaker, is that she still has not accepted that she came into this place and misled it. That is what demonstrates this Chief Minister's refusal to accept the authority of this place. That is what demonstrates that this Chief Minister treats this place with contempt. Anybody that can swagger into the place, mislead it and then refuse to accept that she has misled it is deserving of the strongest censure. We believe that she is unfit to govern. We know the numbers in this place, and we believe that this motion should be supported. The community deserves to know, Mr Speaker, that this Chief Minister will walk into this place, mislead the parliament that represents the community, and pretend that it did not happen. This censure motion will demonstrate that to them.

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