Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 12 Hansard (11 November) . . Page.. 3949 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

time, we have managed to reduce waiting lists in health by 25 per cent and to come in on budget - something that no other government has managed to do since self-government. We have been able to announce, as a result of our innovative approach with InTACT, that over the next two years all teachers will have computers for their own use. We have got the high speed rail project moving. We have received the tick for an upgrade of Canberra Airport to international status. We have significantly revamped our departmental structures and we have become more efficient in terms of our customer service approach.

With regard to jobs, we have put in place very innovative programs such as the Youth500 scheme, which, as of about a week ago, had managed to place, I think, 303 young people over a very short period of time. We have put in place such very successful schemes as our business incentive scheme, with very close to 2,000 jobs to be created over the next three or so years and some $50m in investment.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, you can see from the approach that we have taken that we have a very clear view of our direction, unlike Mr Berry. When I was having a look at notes for this speech today, I found an old TWU press release with regard to ACTION. It spoke about Mr Berry in really great terms. It referred to his arrogant and provocative behaviour and underhand manner - these are the TWU's words, not mine - when he risked a $6.5m saving on ACTION buses for straight ideological reasons. We all know about the VITAB deal - a great deal for Canberra! We all know about Mr Berry's opposition to the new private hospital, with $20m of investment and real jobs in the construction phase and, of course, when we get this whole hospital up and running.

Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, those things are, I suppose, in a nutshell, very simple. We know where we are heading. We have our priorities on the table. Everybody knows what they are. They are predominantly about jobs and economic diversity and having a fair society with good education and good health. But what does Mr Berry believe in? What is it that those opposite really want? One of the things I can do is very quickly run through some of the things Mr Berry spoke about. What we are facing here, after next February, is the possibility of having a Treasurer who does not even understand the difference between income and spending. For Mr Berry's benefit, income is the money that comes in - the revenue - and spending is what you spend it on. You actually do not add the two together on one side of the balance sheet. It is a very bad approach if you do that, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, because you could actually think you were a millionaire when you were not. That is a very tragic approach. Unfortunately, Mr Berry simply does not understand the difference. As Mr Moore said, he was wrong.

Let me run quickly through his list of make-up figures. Mr Berry said that we had spent $50m making public servants redundant. Spending from the ACT Government's central redundancy pool in 1996-97 was $11.8m. That was the year of the recession. He did mention that we had spent $50m in a recession. That year we spent $11.8m. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, over the last two years, spending of $20.8m under this Government compares with spending of $30.3m over the previous two years under the Follett Government.

Mr Humphries: On redundancies.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .