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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1317 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Even if it were true, it would have been a perfectly reasonable thing to do. The notion of the Government pinning its whole jobs program, its whole development, on a particular land development is ludicrous. All it does is put us in the situation where we go from boom to bust. It is time that this Government looked at productive enterprises that can actually do something in terms of bringing jobs to this Territory and that are not just - - -

Mrs Carnell: Based on buildings?

MR MOORE: Yes, that are not just in construction; that should follow rather than lead.

Mrs Carnell: What were you talking about in question time, then?

Ms McRae: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: Earlier Mr Kaine did ask for protection from interjections. I would just like to remind you of that.

MR SPEAKER: I hope that Mr Moore - and all other members - has the protection of the house from both sides.

MR MOORE: Thank you, Mr Speaker; I have always appreciated your protection. The Chief Minister interjected something about question time. Even at question time we pointed out, "You threw away 200 jobs or more". We have not quite worked out how many it will be. That was a matter that we drew to your attention in another one of our reports that come down about every five weeks or so, on average.

It was intemperate language. I responded with equally intemperate language, with the sorts of points that I have been making today. My release started:

Independent MLA, Michael Moore, today launched a scathing attack on the Chief Minister over her response to the Report of the Planning and Environment Committee.

In it I said:

The Chief Minister has the mistaken notion that land development should lead to a jobs-recovery. Such an approach can only lead to slumps and troughs in economic and job growth.

The slumps and troughs are going all the way down. I continued:

Sustainable economic growth can only be gained when productive enterprise is facilitated in the ACT.

I think back to a good example of the Chief Minister's efforts with regard to the electronics industry at Symonston, which I think was a reasonable effort at getting jobs. That is the sort of thing that we should be able to look forward to in Canberra. It did not end there. The Chief Minister wrote to me about the issue and started:

I refer to your colourful media release issued earlier today ...

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