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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 10 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 2848 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

rigour in this? Where exactly is the overarching sense that this is all being crafted together to make an homogenous whole? I am afraid I don't detect that.

In other areas the laziness of the approach is absolutely clear. Most strikingly we look at the government's promise that it would be able to identify, if it needed to, savings of $2.3 million in ministerial advice. This government has had to make some fairly dire decisions, and they told us only in the last week of sittings how hard those decisions have been. "Yes," says the Chief Minister, "we would like to spend more money on hospital waiting lists but we haven't got the dough." If you haven't got the dough, Chief Minister, why haven't you implemented the policy that you took to the last election to save $2.3 million in ministerial advice by cutting ministerial advising back by $2.3 million? Wouldn't it be nice to transfer that money from the executive budget to the hospital budget and reduce waiting lists?

Mr Stanhope: That's not in the four-prong plan.

MR HUMPHRIES: You can talk about our proposals all you like, and I know you are going to do that quite a lot, but sooner or later accountability demands that Mr Stanhope and his colleagues begin to answer some questions.

Mr Stanhope: The only money involved in the four-prong plan is the forgone revenue.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, because of these interruptions I will probably have to ask for an extension of time.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Humphries has the call.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, this is a pertinent question, it is a real question and it is a question that deserves to be answered. If you, as you told this house last week, Chief Minister, need money for hospital waiting lists, why didn't you cut the executive budget by the $2.3 million which you said was available to be saved? You said the money was there. Why haven't you taken it out?

Mr Stanhope: When did I say that?

MR HUMPHRIES: Do you want me to quote you, Chief Minister? I can if you want me to.

Mr Stanhope: I think you can quote Mr Quinlan but you might have trouble quoting me.

MR HUMPHRIES: Actually you have caught me out 100 per cent. Yes it was-

MR SPEAKER: Order! The member's time has expired. Do you want a second period of 10 minutes?

MR HUMPHRIES: Yes, I would love one please.

MR SPEAKER: Far be it from me to advise members how they contribute to debate but if you keep firing rhetorical questions at Mr Stanhope you will provoke him into responding.

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