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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 2 Hansard (11 March) . . Page.. 577 ..

MR HUMPHRIES

Mr Speaker, having said that about the Labor Party's position, I think it also has to be recorded that the Labor Party's position in opposition will obviously have to be very different from its position in government. The Labor Party, to the best of my recollection, has opposed every single taxation measure which the Government has brought forward in the last four years.

Mr Wood: And you never did that! You have got a short-term memory.

MR HUMPHRIES: I might be wrong about that. Mr Wood, who is yet to speak in this debate, might refresh my memory about the things that they have supported. I can list certainly about a dozen things that they have opposed; but, as far as things they have supported are concerned, I cannot recall.

Mr Wood: I am thinking about the things you opposed when we were in government.

MR HUMPHRIES: I will take up that interjection from Mr Wood.

Mr Berry: What about the education budget?

MR HUMPHRIES: The education budget is a good place to start; that is fine. We opposed the Labor Party's reductions in education outlays during the time that they were in government. We even moved a motion to amend the budget to prevent them from reducing the budget by cutting teacher numbers. In government, we have been consistent with our position in opposition because we have not cut teacher numbers and we have not reduced outlays in education. Indeed, we have increased our outlays in education quite substantially; in fact, well above the CPI.

Mr Berry: No, you have reduced them.

MR HUMPHRIES: No, that is not true. I will come back to that, Mr Berry, and I will prove to you that we have not done that. We have increased - - -

Mr Berry: Talk about your election promise and the result.

MR HUMPHRIES: We have increased in line with our election promise and beyond. I can demonstrate that, and I will, if you like, later today.

Mr Berry: No, do it now.

MR HUMPHRIES: I cannot do it now because I have not got the figures with me, but I will do it later today. Secondly, we have opposed reductions in teacher numbers except, obviously, ones based on reductions in enrolments. We opposed the Labor Party doing that when we were in opposition and we have been consistent in government about that.

Let us look at the situation about the consistency across the chamber as far as taxes are concerned. The Labor Party have opposed every tax we have brought in, but their position on taxation has inevitably changed whenever they have moved on to the government benches. Let me give you one example. In opposition, the Labor Party vehemently opposed the 3c a litre diesel fuel levy which was placed on ACT motorists by

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