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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2655 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Mr Speaker, I cannot imagine how this budget will not be cut when the $1m is taken out, even though Mrs Carnell says that it will not be cut. The fact is that Mrs Carnell has refused to hold that budget at its present level and, of course, is now going to blame Mr Howard because of the reduction in funding - - -

Mr Whitecross: Which she agrees with.

MR BERRY: Which Mrs Carnell agrees with. Mrs Carnell cannot have it all ways on this issue. The fact is that there is a dental service required there. She has to say that she does not have the heart to put the funds in to support the level of services which is already there; she cannot keep blaming Mr Howard. Mr Howard has come down like a tonne of bricks on the ACT; but Mrs Carnell has to accept some responsibility for these things as well. Let us not forget that it is Mrs Carnell who has also been "amalgamating services". I think that is the term which is used within the department. We all know what that means. That means closing some, does it not? So, there have been child dental clinics out there in the community that have been closed down.

Ms Follett: He knows all about it!

MR BERRY: I was just reminded, Mr Speaker, that you have suffered some amalgamation in your area as well, if the predictions are carried through. So, Mr Speaker, you would understand the horror of imposed amalgamations.

Mrs Carnell has to be dragged out repeatedly and exposed for the misrepresentation which usually flows from her words in relation to questions on issues of importance. At question time, Mrs Carnell was evasive, at best; and, during the course of the debate about the Federal budget, it became clearer what was intended for our dental services. They are going to be cut. That is the answer. They will be cut. Mrs Carnell has to say, "They will be cut", if that is what she means.

So, Mr Speaker, if Mrs Carnell had been fair dinkum at question time, she would have given us an answer which contained the words she used in her criticism of the Howard budget. It would have been clearer to us then and it would have been a proper response in question time. The fact is that Mrs Carnell intends to see fewer services provided in the ACT for people who are having dental problems. They are the people that Mr Howard wanted to hit with his budget. They are the people who have been hit by the Carnell budget as well.

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