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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 3 Hansard (6 March) . . Page.. 659 ..

MR CORBELL (continuing):

terms of involvement at the Council of Australian Governments level on industrial relations matters and in the key issues-as Ms MacDonald rightly points out-of wage justice and comparative wage justice.

Mr Speaker, I welcome the motion from Ms Gallagher. It is important to put on the record this government's commitment to improving wage outcomes for those on lower incomes.

I would be interested to have Mr Pratt justify the Liberal Party's position to those people in the ACT community who will benefit if the wage increase advocated by the ACTU is delivered.

MR HUMPHRIES (Leader of the Opposition) (4.16): Mr Speaker, I have some difficulty in supporting the motion and the amendment before the Assembly. I have not seen the recent submission by the ACT government. Strictly speaking, I understand that there is no submission. I understand from the minister that there is no submission from the ACT government. There is a submission on behalf of all Labor governments to the Industrial Relations Commission. That is the one prepared by the New South Wales government, rather than the ACT government.

I have not seen that document. It has not been tabled in this place. Ms Gallagher has a copy.

Ms Gallagher: It is on the Internet. I can give it to you.

Mr Corbell: It is a public document. It is on the Internet.

MR HUMPHRIES: That is fine, but it has not been tabled as yet.

Mr Corbell: Well, get your shadow minister to pay attention to the issue. That is not hard.

Mr Pratt: It is on a federal website. We have it from a federal website. Where is the ACT government's advice to members of the Assembly?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I am making a point. I realise that, with some discovery, the document could be obtained, but I am a little concerned about the Assembly being asked, in highly congratulatory terms, to pat the government on the back for its production of a document which, in fact, it has not produced at all-it is actually somebody else's document-and which is part of a strategy by other governments as much as by the government here.

I have no evidence that there was any input by the ACT government on this. It was actually a document prepared by the New South Wales government. Presumably the ACT government was asked to tick that off, which I assume it has done. It has not been tabled in this place. I gather most of us have not seen it, and yet we are being asked to indicate our support for that document.

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