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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 9 Hansard (19 November) . . Page.. 2720 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

Did he give any consideration to anybody else's staff? Mr Rugendyke, I do not know whether you are going to support this mess or not but, if you are, have you had any thoughts for other people's staff and how they might be affected by these sorts of arrangements? No, of course you have not. This is expedience at its worst. The posturing that this Chief Minister has gone through here today would turn your stomach.

Mr Humphries: You really hate her, don't you, Wayne?

MR BERRY: No, in fact I quite respect the Chief Minister. I think she is a very successful Chief Minister. I have a great deal of admiration for the way that she has been able to sustain her position. I do not like it but I have a great deal of admiration for her. I think she is doing the wrong thing and I would like to see her toppled; but there is no question about it, she puts, if not every fibre of her being into what she is doing, most of it. That is not to say that I like any of it or that I would congratulate her for any of it. I think most of it is hopeless and leads us nowhere, but I admire her for her tenacity because she has certainly got some. I would hope that she would offer a similar respect for others with a similar tenacity.

This outrageous move by Mr Osborne looks as though it will succeed with the support of the Government. I think it is an outrageous move and it ought to be condemned. It is a sign of the depths to which this Chief Minister will sink in her dealings with her former colleague and other members of this place as well who are of a different political persuasion. Mr Osborne's move is no more than political posturing. After all, he has done all right out of the cosy arrangement so far, so I suppose he thinks he can afford to give up $1,500.

MR MOORE (Minister for Health and Community Care) (4.53): Mr Deputy Speaker, Mr Berry stood up and talked about being vindictive and disingenuous, but let me say that Mr Berry is a struthioid. We can all use words if we have to, Mr Deputy Speaker. He is a struthioid. There is no question about that.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: You had better spell that, Mr Moore.

MR MOORE: If you do not know it, Mr Berry, it is spelt s-t-r-u-t-h-i-o-i-d.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: I suspect it is unparliamentary, but I do not know.

MR MOORE: Well, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will be very interested in somebody taking a point of order on it. Day in and day out his behaviour is the behaviour of a struthioid. There is no question about it.

Mr Berry raised the issue of the Remuneration Tribunal and how its recommendations are funded. I think it behoves us to clarify the Chief Minister's statement on the fact that there will be no more money. Clearly, when there is a Remuneration Tribunal determination, money is provided to the Assembly budget. That is understood. To clarify the Chief Minister's statement, no new money will be made available to the Assembly for this particular purpose. That is what we are talking about.

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