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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3015 ..

MR BERRY: In any event, it is not going to change the impression that people out in Belconnen have of this Minister. He is a lightweight. What a weak representative of his constituency! This is the fellow who makes the cuts in bus services. His Chief Minister and Treasurer says, "Here is your budget, Mr De Domenico. That is all you have, and you are going to have to manage within your budget". At the same time she is out there spending and overspending. There is $20m extra in health, but everybody else has to keep to their budget. You people are as weak as water. You let the Chief Minister spend millions and millions of dollars, and you are not prepared to look after your own constituents and the services that you look after yourselves.

Mr De Domenico: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Sit down, Mr Berry.

Mr De Domenico: Thank you, Mr Speaker, for telling Mr Berry that he should sit down when another member takes a point of order.

MR SPEAKER: State your point of order, Mr De Domenico.

Mr De Domenico: Thank you for at least giving me the courtesy that Mr Berry does not give anybody in this place. Mr Speaker, Mr Berry is supposed to be talking about bus services to Kippax. I suggest that whatever Mrs Carnell may or may not do in terms of the health portfolio has nothing at all to do with bus services in Belconnen.

MR SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I was making the point that Mr De Domenico is a poor representative of his constituents and a poor manager of the bus service. He is being forced to cut services while he lets Mrs Carnell throw money away willy-nilly and $22.3m in health just evaporates.

There is more work to do for the people of Belconnen. They know that the Liberals opposite have abandoned them. They know that they have a couple of Liberal representatives who do not care. The only time that they care is when they are caught out. They were caught out by the old people of Collingrove Court. Mr Stefaniak was caught out. He had a quick little afternoon tea to try to smooth the concerns. Now there is some sign that the Government is turning around. Congratulations to those old people at Collingrove Court. They have done a particularly good job, but I think they know that there is more work to do to guarantee that some of the services to their particular residents will not be reduced by this Government. They are quite convinced that this Government does not care. They do not trust them, and for good reason. What government would go to the people saying that it was a representative of small business and then take decisions which would damage small business? What government would go to the people saying that it was concerned about people, particularly the aged, and then pull bus services from eight suburbs when the people most affected by the withdrawal of those services were the aged, people on low incomes, young people - all people who fall out of Mr Howard's version of "all of us"? What he really meant was some of us. That is what you people stand for - just some of us. (Extension of time granted)

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