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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 4836 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

report was tabled when Mr Berry was in government. This is not an Auditor-General's report that came down under us. This Auditor-General's report came down when they were in office. In July 1995 I announced that we would assume ACTTAB's debt. We did that because, to quote my comments which were reported in the Canberra Times on 21 July 1995:

Faced with the prospect of loss of jobs and revenue if ACTTAB became insolvent we had little choice but to discharge the debt.

Is that not what a responsible Minister would do, Mr Speaker, if he or she was presented with that sort of advice from the Auditor-General? But wait a minute. Was this advice not potentially deceitful, according to Mr Berry in his remarks this morning? If Mr Berry is now demanding that I add Mr Parkinson to the list of people who should be sacked today, he will not get what he wants.

Mr Speaker, what this embarrassing revelation shows is that Mr Berry still does not have a clue what he is talking about when it comes to any financial matters. He does not have a clue what he is talking about when it comes to VITAB. As Chief Minister, I have acted in accordance with the Auditor-General's advice, and I have to say that, since this Government came to office and recorporatised ACTTAB, its financial recovery and performance have been, according to even Mr Burbidge, stunning. That recovery has been based on a board run by somebody Mr Berry was fairly negative about this morning and the executive director of ACTTAB, who Mr Berry this morning said should be sacked. Mr Berry, this is not deception. This is just good government.

Mrs Littlewood: Mr Speaker, under standing order 1 of the Corbell standing orders, I would like to point out the full and detailed statement that the Chief Minister has just given us, and I thank her.

MR WOOD: My question is to Mr Kaine as Minister for Urban Services. It refers to advertisements in the Canberra Times about 21/2 weeks ago calling for the employment of temporary bus operators for ACTION. My question is a simple one, but I understand that you may not have the answer in your head. Could you tell us now or a bit later how many positions it sought to fill? Was the exercise designed to fill the casual driver roster? Do you know how many applications were received?

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I will have to take that question on notice.

MR WOOD: I have a supplementary question. A concern behind the question is that - - -

Mr Humphries: Mr Speaker, I am sure that Mr Wood has lots of concerns, but he is not entitled to a preamble. Can he just tell us what the supplementary question is?

MR SPEAKER: I uphold that. Go on, Mr Wood.

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