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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 820 ..
MR BERRY: Got a number? He does not have a number. (Further extension of time granted) Mr Rugendyke does not have any numbers at all on the sweetener. The Treasurer does not have any numbers either.
Mr Moore: He has got the numbers.
MR BERRY: I hear Mr Moore's interjection - Mr Moore without philosophy. Now we come to the gas-fired power station, which was rejected by the board of ACTEW. They did not think it would work. Now all of a sudden it will work. It looks attractive. People in the ACT might think they are getting something. What they are getting in fact is inter-competition in the sale of energy. What are the risks of this?
I think it was Mr Moore who said that jobs will be coming from this. They will not be building the gas-fired power station here in the ACT, Mr Moore; they will be buying it from somewhere and bringing it here. And there will not be many people looking after it because it will be fully automated - if it ever gets built. These are lollies that have been put on the top of a proposal which has been developed by a group who wants to make it look like a big birthday cake. There are no guarantees that it will even go ahead.
Let us get back to certainty for the work force. Mr Rugendyke waxed lyrical about certainty. He said that they all need certainty. He then said, "I've got 'em a two-year guarantee for their jobs". So for two years they will have a job. Well done, Dave!
Mr Hargreaves: He had one for three years, didn't he?
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, do not interrupt your colleague.
MR BERRY: They have had 10 or 20 years with ACTEW, and Dave's got them another two years. Good on you, Dave! What a joke. Talk about certainty. The hypocrisy of all of these arguments is just overwhelming.
What about the AGL workers? What is going to happen to them? What is going to happen to the AGL workers that come home? As I said in the opening of my speech, Mr Moore was talking about the past and the calvary or something - the Polish cavalry in the Second World War. Mr Moore, would you like to have a look at the future?
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Berry, you can invite Mr Moore to inspect your newspaper after we have finished the debate.
MR BERRY
: I go back to my final point in relation to this matter. On the one hand, you could describe acceptance of these job guarantees as naivety. If Mr Rugendyke wants to admit that he is naive on the matter, I would be happy to accept that. On the other hand, it could be seen to be entirely cynical. The people who made the offer know what they are on about; they are smart people. They made the offer. I am sure they would be telling people that if there are to be any job losses, they will be after the next election, so they will not have to worry. They say, "We'll give you a two-year guarantee that it won't happen. So you won't be blamed for job losses before the next election".
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