Page 1918 - Week 06 - Thursday, 5 May 2005
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MR SPEAKER: Order! Direct your comments through the chair, Mr Quinlan. Cease interjecting, Mr Smyth.
MR QUINLAN: Assume an economic cycle. Pick any number of years you like—seven, eight, nine. We will call that a superset. That’s a mathematical term. Let’s divide that superset into rolling four-year subsets. Let’s call them the budget cycle. My challenge is: find me a set of numbers where all of the contiguous, rolling, four-year budget cycles are positive and you can still find a negative in the superset. If that is too thick for you, too heavy for you, go and get help. But what I am trying to get through—
Mr Smyth: I’ve got your chart.
MR QUINLAN: Right. That is the beginning. That was lesson one. Find some numbers; give me some numbers—
Mr Corbell: He has had to have remedial lessons.
MR QUINLAN: Yes. Shame about the education or lack thereof, Mr Speaker.
Mr Smyth: I was educated in the ACT.
MR QUINLAN: Not for long enough, obviously.
Mr Smyth: But you know better.
MR QUINLAN: I do. In this regard, I obviously do. I just want to try to communicate. You don’t give a continental whether I respect you or not.
Mr Smyth: Quite frankly, I don’t.
MR QUINLAN: I know you don’t, but I still try to communicate how silly you sound.
Mr Smyth: Oh, I sound silly now!
MR QUINLAN: You do.
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Smyth, please be quiet. Mr Quinlan, direct your comments through the chair. I have had enough of this.
MR QUINLAN: Sorry, Mr Speaker. I won’t take up any more of the house’s time because I think that Mr Smyth has closed ears. He has got hands over the ears and is saying, “La, la, la, la, la, I don’t want to listen.” As I said, I thank everybody for their contribution. We look forward to the alternative budget from the opposition. We look forward, at least, to some constructive contributions in the near future, otherwise what has been said today entirely lacks credibility.
Question resolved in the affirmative
Bill agreed to in principle.
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