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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (24 August) . . Page.. 2324 ..

MR BERRY (continuing):

The next issue, Mr Speaker, is that of the hospice, another appalling chapter in this Government's dealings in the ACT. It can be added to the ACTEW debacle, the Hall/Kinlyside affair, the Feel the Power campaign, the futsal slab and the Floriade debacle - the list just goes on. This Government has added another $3m to the debt of the Territory by its inaction on this matter. Mr Speaker, I do not think that we have any alternative but to approve of this expenditure.

Mr Moore: Ha, ha!

MR BERRY: I heard Mr Moore laughing in relation to this matter. Mr Moore was a supporter of locating the hospice in its present place at a time when there was no intention to have the National Museum going there, at a time prior to the Chief Minister getting into the act and negotiating away our rights to have a hospice on that site. Previously, provision was always made for the hospice to be on that site. Mr Moore can deny the incompetence of his Chief Minister all he likes, just to keep his job, but those are the facts of the matter. The fact of the matter is that this has been caused by incompetence and the Territory is again going to be asked to cop the bill for the mistakes of the Chief Minister.

Mr Speaker, this has been a disgraceful affair. For my part, if the Government had any courage it would take a stand and tell the Federal Government to go to billyo. If they want the land, they should not have it until they pay proper compensation. The Federal Government should be paying for this move, plus the cost of the new site. The expenditure will probably go to more than $3m when you take into account the inconvenience and the site costs that will go with the move.

The other thing I am concerned about is where the hospice might go when it is moved. I do not want to see it moved into the grounds of a hospital and I do not want to see it not centrally located. I think that all these issues are ones to which the committee could address itself.

Just going back to the V8 Supercar race for a moment, I must say that I am equivocal on which car wins. I used to be a supporter of the use of Australian iron. As Australian engines are no longer produced for these cars, it really does not matter much, does it? But it is, nevertheless, an important spectacle. We will just have to wait and see what happens there. But the proposed expenditure really needs to be closely examined, given the Government's performance in the management of the Territory's finances in other areas.

Mr Speaker, I want to go to an article about the sound system at Bruce Stadium which appeared this week in an edition of the Canberra Times. The article says that the sound is great at Bruce Stadium. It has a picture of the proud Mrs Carnell at the stadium with some businessmen and underneath it she is quoted as saying:

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