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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (14 May) . . Page.. 1409 ..

If those opposite had been in power in the ACT at the moment, they would have just belly-ached, there would not have been a working party, and I think Canberra would have been significantly worse placed. Those opposite seem to have missed the point - - -

Mr Berry: Ask everybody out there.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister has the floor.

MRS CARNELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I think those opposite might have missed the point with regard to the National Museum. As I said in my speech, the Federal Government's budget says quite categorically that work will start this year, 1997-98, and the Minister's press release says that 200 jobs will be created in 1997-98. If those opposite pooh-pooh 200 jobs, I think that is a bit of a joke, Mr Speaker.

There is no way that my Government will be out there supporting public sector job losses in the ACT. We have been quite categorical about that in the past. There are two approaches you can take. One is just to whinge about it and the other one is to go out and do something about it, as we did in last year's budget, when we brought down a budget based upon business expansion, based on jobs. Since we brought down that budget, there are 5,600 new jobs in our market in the ACT. Since we came to government over two years ago, there have been 3,800 new jobs, even with the Federal Government downsizing of last year. I think that shows that our economy, under enormous difficulties, can produce new jobs, that we can move to stand on our own two feet, that we can end up in a situation where we are not as reliant on the Federal Government as we have been in the past. It seems that those opposite want to be reliant on Federal governments, which from time to time have downsizings, changes of policy, changes of direction over which we have no control.

This side of the house wants to move, and we are moving, to a situation where we will not be reliant on the whims of a Federal government that we do not elect, over whose decision-making we have no control. Let us get to a situation where we do control our own destiny. In the budgets we have brought down for the last two years, we have been putting in place an economy that will stand on its own two feet, an economy that is not as reliant as those opposite want us to be on a Federal government, an economy that has produced 3,800 extra jobs over a two-year period of downsizing by the Federal Government, a situation where we even have fewer people unemployed now than when we came into government. That is a pretty fair effort, not just from the Government but also from the private sector, from the Canberra community. If all they had to do was listen to those opposite, with no ideas, just belly-aching, we would not be anywhere. I do not think the downsizing is acceptable, but my Government is doing something about it.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

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