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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 9 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 2689 ..

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I have to say that this response is actually no longer than a normal response. It is just that those opposite are making it longer. We then had a situation where Mr Stanhope suggested, I think, that the electricity arm, or the retail arm, of ACTEW accounted for only 3 per cent of the corporation's business. The fact is that it was 3 per cent of ACTEW's total business value. You would have thought that Mr Stanhope would have known the difference. In fact, last year electricity retail accounted for some 30 per cent of ACTEW's gross revenue. So again, Mr Speaker, they are wrong.

This morning we heard Mr Stanhope say that no other government was having to take these sorts of actions to fund their unfunded superannuation liability. Yet just a couple of days ago, the New South Wales Labor Government had to borrow $3.2 billion to put into their unfunded superannuation liability. Again, Mr Speaker, those opposite, who would be embarrassed - I understand why they are embarrassed - got it wrong. I suppose what I should do is finish by congratulating Mr Wood and Mr Hargreaves on being the only two that have not misled the people of Canberra.

Mr Speaker, I have an absolutely wonderful little brochure here from Mr Berry. Mr Berry put in those documents of which he is proud things that are absolutely wrong. Mr Speaker, I table them. Recorded in Hansard today we have comments from Mr Berry that he is proud of the fact that he put out untrue information.

MR HIRD: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. I am delighted to see that Mr Wood has a sensible, rational and honest approach. From what I could hear when the Chief Minister was replying to my question, it would appear that those people opposite, with the exception of Mr Wood and Mr Hargreaves, have got it wrong once again. If anything, they are the ones that are misleading the people of the ACT. Are they scaremongering also? Is this correct, Chief Minister?

Mr Corbell: Let's hear it all again.

MS CARNELL: I would be happy to read it again.

MR SPEAKER: Order! I recall that the word was used at the beginning of your question, Mr Hird. I thought, Chief Minister, that you had adequately answered that question.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I think I have adequately answered it. I would just like to - - -

Mr Berry: Well, nobody was listening. We don't know.

MR SPEAKER: Order! The Chief Minister cannot be responsible for what the Opposition says.

MS CARNELL: Thank goodness for that, Mr Speaker. I would finish by saying that an open and honest debate on this particular issue is in the community's interest. It is certainly not in the community's interest to see people use facts, or use a lack of facts, with such gay abandon.

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