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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4092 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

Madam Deputy Speaker, it is significant to understand that this is another form of borrowing, for two reasons. The first is that what that means is that Mrs Carnell's cash surplus of $10m is really a cash deficit of $98m. A fraud was perpetrated on the Canberra community when the claim was made that there was a cash deficit. Secondly, Madam Deputy Speaker, it is important to understand that this is really just another form of borrowing because, when we look at the outyears, we see that the same thing exists through the outyears. In other words, there is actually no financial management strategy on the part of the Government to reduce this cash deficit. There is no financial management strategy at work in the Government to bring down that cash deficit. Instead, Madam Deputy Speaker, we have the possibility that the Central Financing Unit will be kept busy in future years once again selling off assets in order to fund Mrs Carnell's deficit. I think it is very important that people understand that, in fact, this appropriation is being topped up by borrowing dressed up as asset sales.

Proposed expenditure agreed to.

Part 6 - ACT Superannuation Provision

Proposed expenditure - ACT Superannuation Provision, $13,324,000 - agreed to.

Part 7 - Department of Health and Community Care

Proposed expenditure - Department of Health and Community Care, $322,402,000

MR BERRY (12.45 am): The first thing I have to refer to in the context of the overall budget is what Mrs Carnell said about the jobs that people have not got and that have been advertised. We are 18 per cent worse off than we were a year ago. The first thing I want to deal with is the Government's response to the Select Committee on Estimates.

Mrs Carnell: We have done that.

MR BERRY: It is a cognate debate. Mrs Carnell, in her Government response, complains:

This matter was dealt with at some length during the Hearings of the Committee but failed to identify any relationship to its consideration of the Budget.

That is, a conflict of interest. Well, six members of the committee disagree with you, because in the committee report they make it quite clear - - -

Mr De Domenico: Where?

MR BERRY: Beginning on page 25, about those recommendations, and the approved - - -

Mr De Domenico: What does it say?

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