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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 8 Hansard (28 August) . . Page.. 2608 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

with a fire sale of Federal office buildings, leading to what has been described by local real estate agents as the destruction of investor confidence in Canberra's market to a point of crisis; dismantled Australia's quality child-care system, increasing fees and charges for parents, forcing some women out of the work force and threatening the future of community child-care centres; proposed a regressive tax, the GST, which will see many low-income Canberrans paying an unfair proportion of tax; cut rent assistance; increased the Medicare levy; cut disability services funding and dental services funding; cut Australian Hearing Services for senior citizens; cut funding for the ABC; forced pensioners to pay more for their pharmaceuticals; and forced 200,000 low-income people to pay more in tax because of changes to the rebate scheme? Do you not feel ashamed about supporting those policies?

MR SPEAKER: Are these inferences, Mr Berry?

Mr Whitecross: No.

MRS CARNELL: I think there is an issue about relevance in this place. What I do support, very strongly, is a Federal Government that has done something about a $10 billion black hole in the budget produced by the previous Labor Government, Mr Speaker. As I said last night, what I do not support in any government is continuing to spend money that you do not have and running up a public debt to be paid by our children and our grandchildren.

MRS LITTLEWOOD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Attorney-General as the Minister responsible for electoral matters. I ask the Attorney-General whether he is aware of a comment by Federal Labor MP, Bob McMullan, that the Liberal Party should put Pauline Hanson's One Nation party last on its voting preference ticket at the next election. If he is aware of this comment, is putting Ms Hanson's party last on the ticket going to be effective in an ACT election?

MR HUMPHRIES: I thank Mrs Littlewood for this most important question. Yes, I did see the rather extraordinary comments by the member for Canberra.

Members interjected.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Settle down, everybody. You are not announcing Executive policy, I trust, Mr Humphries?

MR HUMPHRIES: I am not, Mr Speaker. I am debunking a stupid policy, actually. I saw the rather extraordinary comments of the member for Canberra in the newspaper this morning. Apparently, he had challenged the Chief Minister to ensure that the Liberal Party puts Pauline Hanson's One Nation party last on its how-to-vote card.

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