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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (25 May) . . Page.. 1822 ..

MR QUINLAN: I do not think so. I have not been in government and I have not been in this place that long but I do think my integrity would preclude me from going as far as writing some of the misleading information that has been associated with this budget. That I promise you. I would never lower myself that far, Mr Humphries, and thank you for asking.

We also hear that under the Carnell government this miracle town has turned into a private sector town. That phenomenon really boils down to the fact that the federal government has outsourced and changed the method of receiving services. The Australian national accounts issued by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that constantly over quite a number of years about 60 per cent of ACT economic activity has been dependent on the public purse. We might be changing at the edges-I certainly hope we change more-but it is totally misleading to make the outrageous claim that somehow this is a private sector town, and that this is all due to the activity of the Carnell government.

We see that there are some good things in this budget. We think the additional policing is good. We think the easing of payroll tax is good. We think funds devoted to trying to encourage development beyond research in the territory is a good thing. I am very flattered that, in making this decision, Ms Carnell is backing what I said a year or so ago.

But overall I have to join with Mr Stanhope in saying that the spin that has been put on this budget-this building social capital spin-is the bid to re-invent Ms Carnell after two very poor years in terms of her image. The revelation of the real results of-

Members interjecting-

MR QUINLAN: I would rather talk to an empty bench than-

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: No, you are talking to the chair, Mr Quinlan.

MR QUINLAN: I would rather talk in front of an empty bench than in front of a contrived conversation.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member is not intruding on standing order 41. You are talking to the chair. Mr Quinlan, you have the call, sir.

MR QUINLAN: Thank you, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. In case I had grabbed anyone's attention, I will return to what I was saying. I have to say the little book of pap that talks about building social capital is a fairly pathetic effort to try to re-invent the image of this government. When I look at the little book of pap I get the impression that it is designed for mass circulation. As I said yesterday morning, if this is the case the government ought to put a little chain around each one because this is about the same class of propaganda as that which the Howard government is putting out in relation to its so-called tax reform. Having made those remarks yesterday morning and walking out of the door of the Convention Centre, I was a little chuffed to be offered one of these little books of pap, as everybody else was. Yes, it just had that look.

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