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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 4 Hansard (7 May) . . Page.. 1052 ..

Mr Whitecross: I can hardly wait.

MRS CARNELL: I am sure we can all hardly wait. Maybe out of that we will all be able to see the way Ms McRae probably thinks we should do it.

MS McRAE: Dear, oh dear! Some of us gave up believing in Mary Poppins a long time ago. If you all work hard, you might be able to listen to my question. Why don't you just be quiet?

MR SPEAKER: Enough of the theatrics; just ask the supplementary question.

MS McRAE: I am working very hard at it, Mr Speaker. Given your dubious employment growth claims, will you table in the Assembly the modelling prepared by Treasury to back up these claims and your justification for predicting employment growth against all odds?

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I again say, against all odds, look at the last six months' figures.

Ms McRae: I asked you to table a document.

MRS CARNELL: I am happy to table the way we have worked it out; but all you have to do, and Ms McRae has it at the moment, is look at the employment growth since our last budget came down. The employment growth has been quite significant. I think that is good news for Canberra. I believe a 0.25 per cent increase in employment is very sustainable. I am happy to put together a paper that might help those in the Assembly, if they do not have the Bureau of Statistics figures. That is fine.

Accommodation Tax

MRS LITTLEWOOD: My question is to the Minister for Tourism. It is a shame Mr Moore is not here, because a minute ago he raised a matter to which he may like to have the answer. Minister, has your attention been drawn to the decision by the New South Wales Labor Government to introduce a 10 per cent accommodation tax in the Sydney central business district, northern suburbs and eastern suburbs? Could the Minister outline the existing ACT Government policy in this area and indicate whether the policy is under review in the light of this new tax measure by the Labor Party?

MR KAINE: Thank you, Mrs Littlewood, for the question. If anybody ever needed any evidence that the Labor Party establishes governments that are on about tax, this provides it. It seems that they simply cannot help themselves. If somebody goes into business in the private sector - - -

Mr Berry: Tired old rhetoric and a tired old Minister.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Kaine has a cold and I do not want him shouting unnecessarily. Let us be fair about this.

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