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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4087 ..

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (12.27 am): One of the things that obviously Mr Whitecross does not know or is not interested in telling us about is that the trend in job vacancies did go up in October. In fact, the increase in the ACT in October was the largest of all States and Territories except South Australia. As you can see, there is a small potential for turnaround there, but certainly not much. We heard in Mr Whitecross's statement exactly what Mr Humphries said before. Mr Whitecross decided to bag or to oppose a number of the revenue-raising measures that this budget has in it.

Mr Whitecross: I voted for one earlier.

MRS CARNELL: One. You bagged all the others. There is absolutely no indication of what he would do, no idea of how they would address the current situation; just ways that we could make sure we had less revenue - no less expenditure, no more jobs; just less revenue. Mr Whitecross said that he did not support a couple of the revenue-raising approaches.

Mr Whitecross: Two.

MRS CARNELL: Two. He did not indicate that he would cut expenditure to balance those, not one place where they would spend less money. That just shows categorically an Opposition that has absolutely no ideas, that just wants to bag everything. Mr Whitecross cannot get it quite right on borrowings. If Mr Whitecross can show me where we have borrowed one new dollar in this budget, I will accept that there are borrowings in the budget. The fact is that he cannot, because we did not borrow one dollar or a hundred dollars. We did not borrow any new money in this budget. This is the reality, and I think it is very important. If he can show me one place where we have borrowed money, then he has made his point. The fact is that he cannot, because we did not borrow any money.

MR BERRY (12.29 am): Looking at the employment figures for the year from October to October, do you know what I see? I see 5,600 fewer people employed.

Mr Whitecross: That is an economy on the move!

MR BERRY: It is on the way up! I look at the unemployment rate since Mrs Carnell came to office, and I see 2,600 more out of work. So 5,600 jobs have been lost in a year, and 2,600 more are out of work since Mrs Carnell came to office. As you say, Mr Whitecross, it is an economy on the move! I would not like to be going too far with it. Mrs Carnell says that she has not borrowed another dollar. David Chessell says that it is disingenuous - - -

Mrs Carnell: Go on, Wayne. Quote David Chessell.

Mr De Domenico: He spends all his nights in bed reading David Chessell's papers.

MR BERRY: No; I just listen to ABC radio. He said that it is disingenuous to say - - -

Mrs Carnell: A well-known economic rationalist quoted by Wayne Berry.

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