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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 10 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 3233 ..

Debate resumed.

MR MOORE (3.36): Mr Speaker, I rise to support this motion to the maximum extent I can. It is a very positive motion and I certainly believe that the sentiment expressed by Mr Berry in it deserves support. However, I do have a problem with this motion, and that is my commitment to allow the government to have its budget. When we have a motion in the Assembly that requires expenditure, as Mr Kaine put it, of $4.2m, that leaves me in a position of conflict. I went to the electorate with the very clear and concise position that the government would be able to have its budget. I have discussed this issue with the Chief Minister, and I hope that an amendment will come forward shortly to assist us in finding an appropriate way to deal with the issues in front of us. It is quite clear that a common rule award is appropriate for social and community service workers in the ACT. It has been quite clear for quite a number of years, including the time when Wayne Berry was in government. It has been quite clear that this approach was going to be an important approach.

The irony of Wayne Berry raising this now, when we have known for a long time that it has been coming, is not to be missed. He may wish to respond to that. It is not that I disagree with the action now; but there is a question as to why he and the Labor Government did not put this in place, why they did not establish a common rule award for all social and community service workers in the ACT, while they were in government. Had they done that while in government, then they would have been able to pay for it. It is very easy from the Opposition benches to say, "We should do this. Let us force it on the Government by putting up a motion, because the Government is not going to put up the money". Yet there was no money available for exactly the same process when Labor were in government. I am sure that Mr Berry, in his speech in reply, will deal with that issue.

There is no doubt that organisations ought not to be penalised by the implementation of a common rule award for these workers. Whether the Government should supplement organisations to enable them to meet their award obligations is another question. I believe they should, but it was not part of the budget that went through this Assembly. I was not asked to support this while Labor were in government, so it is with some surprise that I see it now. I would be much more interested in Mr Berry going to the electorate and saying, "We will spend $4.2m implementing this when we are in government, and this is how we will afford it. This is where the money will come from". A budget is about setting priorities. It is not just about spending money. We can all spend money. I teach this to my children. The easy part always is spending the money. That does not take much training. The difficult part is getting the money in the first place and making sure you have enough of it to go round. That is exactly the context this motion falls into. Let us do it but tell us where you are going to get the money.

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