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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 6 Hansard (18 June) . . Page.. 1732 ..

MR WHITECROSS (continuing):

I urge the Independents and the Greens to reconsider their position on these amendments because the Government has not produced any justification. If they really believe that this is justified, let them produce the feasibility studies first. Let them demonstrate to the Assembly where they are going with this and what their future plans are, rather than trying to pretend that this is a little one-off thing. It is not a little one-off thing; it is part of a larger plan. I urge members to oppose these amendments. They are not in the best interests of public transport in the ACT, they go against the wording of the 31 May 1995 motion, and they will take us down a road which the Liberals are apparently comfortable with but which the crossbenchers and the Greens have previously indicated that they were not comfortable with and they ought not to be comfortable with now.

MR SPEAKER: I acknowledge the presence in the gallery of the politics group from Kaleen High. We are having a busy morning. Welcome to your Assembly.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (12.00): Mr Speaker, I am slightly embarrassed that the students of Kaleen High have seen such a dismal performance by the man who purports to be the alternative Chief Minister of the ACT, namely, Mr Whatever-his-name-is across the way, the man opposite with the beard. You really have to wonder. What was your degree, Mr Whitecross? Was it an arts degree, or a BEc?

Mr Whitecross: Okay; we know all about the personal attacks. Why do you not argue the debate? We are going to have 10 minutes of smear, are we?

MR HUMPHRIES: Your colleague there just a few minutes ago called the Chief Minister a wacko. Do not talk to me about personal smears, Mr Whitecross. Goodness me!

Mr Moore: Come on, Gary; that is just Wayne Berry. We do not have to lower our standards like that. Let us not lower our standards to his level.

MR HUMPHRIES: That is true. We need not go down to Mr Berry's level for this debate. Mr Speaker, this is all about ideology, ideology on the part of the Australian Labor Party that says we cannot, we must not, tolerate any involvement by a non-government service provider in a presently government-provided service in this Territory. We cannot allow that to happen. It is all about ideology: If there is a service already running through the ACT that is passing by spots where people might be picked up to go from place A to place B, even if such opportunities are present, as a matter of principle, as a matter of ideology, we cannot allow that service to stop and pick up those passengers.

Mr Whitecross: If there is an opportunity, why is not ACTION servicing it?

MR HUMPHRIES: Because ACTION, for all sorts of reasons, may not realise that that need is identified and is necessary in the context of the present bus services provided in the ACT.

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