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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 1 Hansard (20 February) . . Page.. 255 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

Indeed, it was a hopeless document. As to the skills that were missing, from my perspective, the Planning and Environment Committee told them what was wrong with it two months earlier. Where are the skills necessary to serve the public? That is a mild statement of generalisation, and is entirely appropriate.

There is talk by Ms Rees that Mr Prattley "being struck with worldly vision as he motors in from his Murrumbateman hobby farm to inform Canberrans that they must forgo their space and live in shoeboxes and mouse-houses reveals the humbuggery of Katzism". She goes in for that sort of thing. Of course it was an appropriate attack on Gary Prattley, our Chief Planner, saying, "Let us live like people live in Barcelona". I think that is a very mild response to somebody who has put their neck out publicly and deserves a hit. Similarly, Mr Turner recently, on his retirement, said, "I am going to put my neck out and say what is wrong. We need to have a Brisbane-style local council". I am very reluctant to have goes at specific public servants; the Public Service in general, if I think it is inadequate, I will go for. But, when he is prepared to say that, then of course I will have a go at him, because he has got it wrong, and that is perfectly reasonable.

I am reading from each of these quotes. It is having a go. What has got the Government so supersensitive? Is the development lobby sick of being exposed? Is the relationship between them and the Liberal Government causing a problem? Is that what it is? Let us wait and see what comes out of some revelations, where the money comes through the 250 Club to the Liberal Party.

Mr Humphries: It is going on the public record, Michael.

MR MOORE: It is not going to go on the public record, Mr Humphries. It is going to look like it is going to go on the public record, but as soon as money is delivered in lots of less than $500 nothing will appear on the public record. You have done that very neatly to make it look like it is going to happen, but you have cut it out, so we will never find out really where the money is and we will all still be suspicious.

Ms Rees refers as well to a reskilling of the ACT Public Service to identify public interest and protect it. Just this morning in my office I had a briefing from an ACT public servant. I must say that it was evident to me - not from this particular very competent public servant - that reskilling of the Public Service has been necessary. The Stein inquiry certainly made it very clear that the ACT Public Service has not been acting in the public interest for a long time. There is no question about it.

Mr Humphries: Does he say that they are corrupt, though?

MR MOORE: Did he say they were corrupt? The Liberals love this. Did Stein say it was corrupt? What Stein actually said was, "We will not look into corruption". That is basically what he said. He said, "We will not look backwards; we will not look back at corruption. What we will do is look forward to telling you how to put in place systems that are not conducive to corruption". He said quite categorically that he was not going to investigate corruption like that.

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