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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (2 July) . . Page.. 2131 ..

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order just to try to keep things here a little bit balanced and a bit civil. Referring to members of the Opposition as geese does not help.

MR SPEAKER: At the same time, interjections are out of order anyway.

Mr Stanhope: That is acceptable, is it, Mr Speaker?

Mr Berry: That is okay. You have set the standard.

Mr Moore: Mr Speaker, just to ease things, if you would prefer me to withdraw the word "geese" and change it to "hyenas", I would be happy to do that.

MR SPEAKER: Come on! Would you all stop acting like children and get on with it. This is the most important debate of the year and you are behaving like primary school children.

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. I am happy to proceed with this important debate with all due pace but commentary from the Chair does not help in this matter, either. We have all got to be a bit level-headed.

MR SPEAKER: It certainly will not be helped if I do not comment from the chair.

Mr Smyth: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: If they are upset with the use of the word "geese" or "goose", it is because of the low standard that the Leader of the Opposition set. The Leader of the Opposition, in the press, has referred to me several times as a goose. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.

MR SPEAKER: I have had enough of this. The discussion is concluded.

MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, I am trying to take this debate seriously by putting the figures on the table. If you take the $22,383,241 mentioned in my first speech and add $5m for the appropriation for working capital, you get $27,383,241. Mr Speaker, that looks very much like the figure in the amendments.

Mr Quinlan: That is $6m in new money.

MS CARNELL: No, it is not. With regard to the Auditor-General, Mr Speaker, the Auditor-General is an auditor. What does an auditor do? He looks at past payments. That is all an auditor can do.

Mr Quinlan: He does performance audits.

MS CARNELL: The Auditor-General can only audit past payments. The Auditor-General agreed that the amendment to the 1999-2000 appropriation of $27.383m could not be audited because it involved some future expenditure, as does, by the way, the whole of the budget. Mr Speaker the Auditor-General does not audit the budget - - -

Mr Quinlan: Did I waste my time yesterday?

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