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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 4 Hansard (16 April) . . Page.. 947 ..

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, this is about the effects on the public sector in the ACT, and Mrs Carnell has been an anchor on development in this place ever since she came here. Have a look at the job figures. That is all you have to look at. Look at the population growth, look at the employment growth, and look at the job figures. You look at the unemployment figure - 7.8 per cent. You cannot avoid it. In the period that you people have been in office it has climbed to a massive 7.8 per cent, and you sit there entirely blush-free. How can you do that? It is an absolute disgrace.

This crisis of confidence out in the business community, in particular, has been caused by the mismanagement of the ACT economy. Trevor Kaine recognises it: "Exodus to follow public sector cuts".

Mr De Domenico: He did not say that. That was Clack, I think.

MR BERRY: Indeed, Mr Kaine's comments underpin the headline. There is no question about that. It makes it very clear that Mr Kaine, the former Treasurer of the ACT, understands it better than Mrs Carnell. Though burdened by that old rhetoric, Mr Kaine still has an understanding of the issues. Mrs Carnell does not. That is the difference.

People out there in the ACT are wondering where we are headed. Unless Mrs Carnell can do better than she did at the last Premiers Conference, we are headed down the tube. What a weak effort was put on by Mrs Carnell. What confidence would the business sector get from Mrs Carnell's effort? It was only after she was goaded into action that she dared even to complain about what Mr Howard intends for the ACT. The best she could do was say, "Please tell us when it is going to happen, so that we can ready ourselves for the pain". What a disgraceful effort from the leader of a government, and from people who ought to be concerned about the future of the ACT! Mrs Carnell has demonstrated clearly that she does not care, and I do not expect that there will be much change.

MR DE DOMENICO (Minister for Urban Services) (4.31): Mr Speaker, as the Chief Minister has already indicated, the Government is very concerned about recent speculation surrounding public sector job numbers in the Territory. In this context, we have asked the Prime Minister to give some indications of the possible magnitude of the proposed cuts. It is very interesting that we should do that, because on 12 May 1994 - and I will quote from the Hansard of that date - I asked this question of the former Chief Minister and former Leader of the Opposition, Ms Follett:

Today the Federal Minister for Industry, Science and Technology, Senator Cook, described the reduction by 352 in the staff of the CSIRO, which was announced in Tuesday's budget, as a "shifting of scientific priorities" ...

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