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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4000 ..

MR BERRY (4.38): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to speak again on this matter as well.

Leave granted.

MR BERRY: The difficulty with this legislation is that, once you make the decision, there is no going back. It is all right to say that we will hold the Government responsible for what they do or do not do in the wake of our passing of this Bill; but, once the decision is made, the money has gone and we will not be able to get it back. As responsible representatives of the taxpayers, I think we have to safeguard any taxpayers' funds that might be used for this purpose or any other purpose we deal with here. In this case, clearly, it looks as though the money that is intended for this scheme will go into a business that is pretty tired - about $300,000 behind. If I were making an investment in a business and I had a look at their balance sheet and saw that over a period of years there had been continuing and growing deficits in their operations, I would be pretty concerned about making that investment, if it were my money. What I am going to do is apply the same rules to the taxpayers' money. I am going to be pretty concerned about it as well.

Since July 1993, the Master Builders Construction and Housing Association group apprenticeship scheme has clearly been in decline. It started in 1993 with a balance of $111,000 in its profit and loss fund. In July 1994 that had fallen to $86,000. By July 1995 it was $102,000 in deficit, and by January 1996 it was $308,000 in deficit. Clearly, there is something wrong with the way that fund is being run, and it signals to me that the money that goes into the fund will first of all have to plug the hole.

Let us have a look at some of the statements that have been made. Mr Osborne quite rightly raised the issue that was raised by Mrs Carnell. Mrs Carnell has put a good few layers of glossy enamel on this little job because she wants to sell it. She should be out there selling rusty FB Holdens. She said here:

There is no money, not one dollar, going to the MBA training fund.

Quite frankly, that is not true. It will be going to the MBA training fund.

Mr De Domenico: No, it will not.

MR BERRY: As their balance sheet shows, there is a specific section for government grants, and that is how it finds its way into their coffers. Against the background of "There is no money, not one dollar, going to the MBA training fund", we know already from your letter that $75,000 has been allocated. What is the "not one dollar" claim worth now? It is not worth a zack, let alone a dollar. It is in serious trouble, and I would say to the Chief Minister that I think there is a good case amongst all of this for somebody to consider the issue of misleading this place.

Mr De Domenico: That is the fourth time today and the seventeenth time this week you have tried that one on. They will fail every time.

MR BERRY: They fail only while people keep copping it. We have a clear situation where what Mrs Carnell says is grossly overrated, untrue - - -

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