Page 1755 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 May 2013
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I say to members: let us get rid of this political nonsense about what might happen in the future, this game playing, the scare tactic that Labor and probably the Greens are going to play out because it will suit Shane Rattenbury’s colleague Mr Sheikh. Is he a member of the Labor Party or the Greens? I get confused, as I do sometimes with Mr Rattenbury, I must admit. Let us not have this nonsense. Let us actually do something constructive in this place and find out right now what is going on from the current Prime Minister—the current Prime Minister who is cutting jobs. So enough political nonsense; let us actually get something useful out of this motion. I move the amendment circulated in my name:
Omit all words after “notes”, substitute:
“(a) Labor promised Canberra that they would not cut jobs;
(b) the current Prime Minister is currently reducing the size of the public service in Canberra;
(c) the Public Service Commission reports that nearly 3000 positions have been cut from the Federal public service in the last six months of last year;
(d) further job cuts in the Federal public service have occurred since last year and job cuts are continuing under Federal Labor; and
(e) any commitment to Canberra signed by the Prime Minister cannot be trusted given her extensive record of breaking commitments; and
(2) requests that the Speaker:
(a) write to the Prime Minister and request up to date figures on how many public service jobs have been cut under her term of Government; and
(b) write to Andrew Leigh MP, Gai Brodtmann MP, and Senator Kate Lundy asking them to explain:
(i) why they have failed to be open and accountable with Canberrans about the public service job cuts that are currently occurring under a federal Labor Government; and
(ii) why they pledged against recruitment freezes but continue to support cuts to public service jobs in the ACT.”.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Sport and Recreation, Minister for Tourism and Events and Minister for Community Services) (4.33): It is always a pleasure to follow the Leader of the Opposition in a debate about economic matters, and in fact about anything to do with the federal Liberal Party, because he is always walking on both sides of the street; he is all over the place. One need only begin with the complete contradiction between the opposition leader’s position and that of the federal shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, only last week.
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