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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (21 May) . . Page.. 1508 ..

MR DE DOMENICO (continuing):

Mr Berry used some wonderful phrases like "cheap theatrics", and "it is public relations instead of good sense". He used the fact that the Assembly had constantly censured the Chief Minister. It is the typical Labor ploy. They must have a book there, Mr Speaker, that says, "When you are in opposition you have to whinge, moan, knock and use personal attacks on individuals", because that is what we have heard from Mr Whitecross and, in particular, Mr Berry. Mr Berry would not know what the Audit Act says, for example - he probably has never read it in his life - but he waxed lyrical about the fact that there is power under the Audit Act to allow this open process. Mr Berry, had he read the Audit Act properly, would have realised that the Audit Act also allows Mrs Carnell to do what she has done because it is a more open process. Mr Berry might not like the fact that he spent more time on an estimates committee trying to ask questions - that is his problem - but to come in here and accuse this Government of not being open is utter nonsense.

Mr Berry talked about the cancellation of public works. Once again, had he not had a memory lapse, he would have remembered that there has been underspending in public works every year that I can remember since being elected to this place, and in the years before I was elected to this place. It is nothing new to be underspending on public works. It happens all over the place, Mr Berry. If your memory serves you well, you would recall that it happened under your Government as well. But no, he comes in here and says, "Let us use this now as a political football", because it might get a good headline for a couple of days. That is, after all, what it is all about - to get a good headline.

Mr Berry also spoke about the fact that Mrs Carnell has been censured in this place from time to time. I think I made the interjection "Every day" at one stage during a previous sitting. Mr Berry would walk in and say, for any reason at all, "Let us have a censure motion", thereby debasing the use of the censure motion. Once again Mr Berry's memory seems to have gone into reverse. Mr Berry should have known that the only member of this Assembly that I am aware of in the history of self-government who was ever thrown out of the place or forced to resign because of misleading the Assembly, through a no-confidence motion, was not Mrs Carnell but Mr Berry himself. Mr Speaker, how memories pale. How easily people forget about these things. How easily people use anything they can to try to score political points.

Mr Speaker, the bottom line is this: This Government could have done one of two things. It could have done what the previous Government did, and that is nothing, and continued to spend more on health; or it could do what it should be doing, and what it was elected to do, and that is to be open - have the process open, have this Assembly realise that we have problems in the health system, and the only way we are going to fix them is to actually do something about them. What Mrs Carnell has asked here today, and what we ask, is that this Assembly realise the fact that this is what open government is all about. This is one way in which we can really try to help get us out of the trouble we have in our health budget; not by sitting on our hands but by being very open about what we want to do from time to time and allowing the Assembly to have proper scrutiny of what we are doing. If this Assembly does not vote for this Appropriation Bill it will be for political reasons.

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