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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (3 September) . . Page.. 3001 ..

MR DE (continuing):

Last week Mr Berry came into this place and he made two humdingers. The first one was that the birthing centre was gone - finito. Being the kind soul that I am, I do not suggest that he did it on purpose. I am being pretty soft on him. I just think he misread or misinterpreted or misunderstood the facts before him.

Mr Berry: I do not think so.

MR DE DOMENICO: We have to give him the benefit of the doubt. He says, "I do not think so". That tells me that he did it on purpose. That is fine, if he wants to play politics in this place; but, as Mr Humphries said, when Mr Berry or any other member of this place uses people in the community in order to score a political point, I think that is disgusting.

He went further last week when he suggested that Mr Baker, I think it was, threatened to resign because he did not get on with me. It is all right if he has a go at me. I can accept that. That is fine. That is Mr Berry's way of playing politics - going for the man. Mr Baker then put out a statement saying that he was terribly hurt by what Mr Berry said because it was not true. Once again, Mr Berry has failed the community, I think, by not coming into this place and really doing his job, and that is to try to expose deficiencies in the Government. But, Mr Speaker, when you cannot expose deficiencies in the Government, what you do is revert to the old left-wing Labor approach and attack the person. Any person will do. It does not matter. If they are in their way, so be it; have a go.

Mr Berry did it again today. He said that we were going to abolish services in the northern suburbs, in Belconnen, because of some leaked document, an internal working document. If you read it carefully, Mr Speaker, it is one of the many options that people consider from time to time. Then he uses those old people, for heaven's sake, out there in Scullin for a political point-scoring exercise. I think it is about time, Mr Speaker, that any leader worth his salt, or her salt, over on the other side reined in Mr Berry. Mr Berry should be exposed for what he really is - a protagonist of all those nasty things that we saw done on our television sets two weeks ago. That is what Mr Berry is all about. Kick a political head - - -

Mr Whitecross: Have you asked them whether they are upset with Mr Berry?

MR DE DOMENICO: You are not upset because you are there because of them, Mr Whitecross. You are there because of the CFMEU. If you interject you will get it right back. You will not be there for long because he will take over from you tout de suite. I have to tell you: Be very careful.

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