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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 9 Hansard (6 September) . . Page.. 2916 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

The business incentive scheme has also involved companies like IBM Global Services, more recently CSC and EDS. Those opposite have been very critical of us giving business incentive grants to those companies. EDS has created 388 full-time jobs and 129 part-time jobs right here in Canberra. IBM Global Services have-

Mr Berry: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. My question was about Diskdeed.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you.

MS CARNELL: I can understand why you do not want to know about business incentives, Mr Berry. They have created 360 full-time jobs. Mr Speaker, the reason I brought that up was because Mr Berry has continued to criticise our business incentive approach. The fact is that it has created, as I said, over 1,000 jobs. In fact, significantly more than 1,000 jobs.

For those people on this side of the house who will remember, Mr Berry was one of the people who got stuck right into a company called AOFR, a local company that had some very innovative work in the area of fibre-optic splitters. Members who have driven past Symonston of recent days will have seen that AOFR are in the process of expanding and almost doubling the size of their factory. They must be nearly finished.

MR BERRY: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. She might have another go at this if she can get her head around it. Does the government require a continuing commitment to the territory, or is this just another example of sharp business people taking advantage of her generosity with somebody else's money?

MR SPEAKER: I am sorry, a question answered cannot be repeated. You have answered the question, Chief Minister.

MR BERRY: Okay. A supplementary question, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: No. Sit down. You have used your supplementary question.

Mr Berry: No. Hang on a minute. Wait a minute. Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. Okay, I will accept that you don't require the Chief Minister to answer the question.

MR SPEAKER: The question has been answered.

Mr Berry: Are you going to let me finish my point of order? You don't require the Chief Minister to answer the question, Mr Speaker. You claim that it had already been answered, though rather poorly, in relation to the-

MR SPEAKER: I am no judge of that.

Mr Berry: In relation to the continuing commitment to the territory, but my supplementary is this: is this another example of a sharp business person taking advantage of her generosity with taxpayer's money?

MR SPEAKER: No, I am sorry, you have asked your supplementary question. Sit down.

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