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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 10 Hansard (23 September) . . Page.. 3556 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

This is the shadow Treasurer. The shadow Treasurer did not know the difference between an appropriation bill and a budget.

He spoke of Keynesian economics. He might have heard the name Keynes once before in his life, but I doubt that he knows much about that. He claimed to have stood in this place and demonstrated my lack of understanding of economic concepts because I used the term "economic cycle", which I will use again because everybody else knew what was meant. People could see what was meant. As a communication device, if language be a process used for communication, we are communicating.

The best that I think we can expect from the shadow Treasurer of today is some imitation. I hear he has now picked up the banner of economic diversity. I think Mr Smyth works on the basis that, if you say something often enough, some people might believe you. I guess that the repetition of a line over and over again is on the basis that you can fool some of the people some of the time, but that is about it.

Mrs Burke: Is that what you try to do?

MR QUINLAN: I am tracking okay out there.

Mrs Burke: You fool most of the people most of the time.

MR QUINLAN: The results have shown. I have been in this place for two assemblies and, let me say, every bit of good economic news that came the territory's way in one way or another was claimed with great fanfare by the Liberals of the time. It was all down to good management. The fact that the Commonwealth Grants Commission had changed its whole process and overnight the ACT received a considerable boost in Commonwealth funding actually made it possible for the first time to run an accrual accounting surplus in the Territory. If you just go and look at the numbers, you will see that.

Mrs Burke: What do you claim your success on, then?

MR QUINLAN: By the standards set by the previous government-by Mrs Carnell, et cetera-you would have to say that anything good is down to me. I have heard Mr Smyth say that the good economic results that we are getting today are because the Liberals got the fundamentals right. Do not ask for any more because he would have to tell you what the fundamentals are and he would be in a bit of difficulty. The case is that the ACT economy is subject to external influence and it is subject to internal influence. The internal influences stem, in the main, from government, of course. I think that it is quite clear from the results that are being shown that the government has set the right trajectories. We have had idiotic things said in this place by people, including Mr Smyth, such as that we have a lot of money now and therefore we should change our recurrent expenditure: forget the future; it will look after itself somehow.

Mr Smyth: No-one said that.

MR QUINLAN: See you later. Mr Smyth has suggested that we spend here and spend there because we happen to be in an economic bubble. If he looks at the budget-I do

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