Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 5 Hansard (8 May) . . Page.. 1768 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

I have here a folder of the Labor and Liberal policy announcements for the 2001 election and we did not make that promise. I would expect Mr Smyth to come in here and correct the misinformation that he has put before this place. I know that he is not a very original person and it is a practice that a smarter man, a better man in many ways, Mr Humphries brought to this place. I did not respect Mr Humphries for that practice and I do not respect Mr Smyth.

If he has to stoop to making up and creating pronouncements and then fighting the straw men he has created, then I do not think that he is much of a leader in the community. I find Mr Smyth's response shallow. He uses one little phrase-"We are paying more for less"-with hardly any specifics to go with it and figures that if he chants it often enough someone might believe it. Out there, the people are not believing it; they are, in fact, applauding this budget. Mr Smyth has become something of a rolling cliche, with just the general shallow comments that are made in political debate, and there is no depth behind the rolling cliche. This place did not resonate with huge hits laid upon this budget.

I was entertained, I have to say, by the lengthy time he spent discussing the real meaning of the economic cycle, or my relaxed use of it. I will admit that there was a relaxed use of the phrase "economic cycle", a momentous matter, but David Chessell, the economist from Access Economics, did not seem to have a great deal of problem with grasping what was really meant and recognising that it was a relatively neat way of communicating a message, one that everybody appears to have got, so it was obviously good communication.

I started taking notes of what members of the opposition were saying, but I soon stopped because there was not much to write down. I just want to make one comment on what Mrs Cross said about there being no money for small business. Mrs Cross, please take another look. The structure and the suite of programs and support for small business and what we are doing for small business are probably the first time that there has been a decent targeted system. If the millions of dollars we have put into and are continuing to put into the knowledge bank are not good for starters, and let me say that they are only for starters, then she must be very hard to satisfy.

Again, I thank members. I will in closing go back to Mr Smyth's speech. As I said, he started with a verballing by creating a claim that was ascribed to the ALP and misleading this place. You know when Mr Smyth has not got a lot to say about the economy when he reaches for the old $344 million line. Everybody in this place knows now that that is misleading. Nevertheless-

Mr Pratt: I repeat that the $344 million is still a factor, regardless of what you say about that, Ted.

MR QUINLAN: Old chum, we are in government. It was shouted before the last election. Here we are; we are in government and we have put down our second budget, which has received great acclamation in the community. It is really working, mate; keep playing the game! I gather now that the very imaginative Steve Pratt is going to fall in behind. I do not know whether it is in your background, Mr Pratt, but if you fall in behind you will add very little to this place.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .