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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 07 Hansard (Tuesday, 29 June 2004) . . Page.. 2936 ..

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (8.14): Mr Speaker, the superannuation unit is a very important unit that protects the superannuation rights of the workers of the ACT public service. It is difficult to get across the superannuation provision account. Information on that account is scattered widely over separate parts of the budget. For instance, in budget paper 3 it is on pages 31, 96, 117 to 118, 251 to 256, and 257 to 262. I would make a plea that it be amalgamated into one section so that one can get across the entire portfolio and what it is doing.

On page 261 of BP3 there is the following statement:

These financial assets are invested according to an asset allocation strategy that takes into account the long-term nature of the superannuation liabilities and projected cash flow requirements.

I am not sure whether that statement is just rubbish. That statement is continuing to be made, although it is quite evident that this policy has not been followed over probably the last three years because the asset allocation has been biased towards short-term fixed interest investments. Perhaps the statement should be qualified to that extent. The Treasurer might like to comment on that.

Another issue is to be seen in BP 3 on pages 30, 262 and 270. It goes to liabilities for superannuation for the former Totalcare employees. I do not believe that we are yet to receive a total cost for the reincorporation of Totalcare into the ACT public service. The current estimate for this superannuation liability is $12.5 million, which has been included in the funding analysis for 2003-04, but budget paper 3 does note that further adjustment may be required to the estimate. We have yet to get an update, to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps the Treasurer can tell us whether the investigation has been completed. If not, when will it be completed and has there been a new estimate of this liability?

MR QUINLAN (Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, Minister for Sport, Racing and Gaming, and Acting Minister for Planning) (8.17): I can say this much: we anticipate that the liability will be very substantial. This substantial liability is certainly one that we inherited—there ain’t no argument about this one—in terms of what was moved into Totalcare during the reign of the Liberals and the information that was given to the people when they went to work there. Certainly, under that one banner, Totalcare inherited a raft of problems. I guess it is commentary on this particular Assembly that the opposition wanted to debate the doings and undoings in relation to the fiasco at a quarry which was, in fact, put together totally under the reign of the Liberal Party.

As we build up to an election, if I can make a general statement, we are seeing persistent attempts to reinvent history. Childcare is an example, even the bushfire. The organisation that this government worked with in 2001 and then 2003 in relation to the bushfire was the organisation that was put together by the former government and manned by people appointed by the former government but, because you have nothing to offer in terms of positive policies, you are running a very negative campaign. You are running a campaign that is based on innuendo and is based on inferences that you make. I have to say to you, Mr Smyth, that over the last couple of years you have learned the trade, but the trade is

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