Page 1935 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 24 October 1989
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Public Service Strike
MR KAINE: I would just like to ask a follow-up question to that. Is it not true, Chief Minister, that the Ministers' staff were on strike yesterday in this campaign which has nothing to do with this ACT Government?
MS FOLLETT: Yes, Mr Speaker, it is certainly true that the majority of Ministers' staff were on strike yesterday. They are members of the union which called the strike and they obeyed their union's instructions to go on strike. I have no difficulty with that whatsoever.
Public Service Strike
MR COLLAERY: Chief Minister, I received a message from you yesterday afternoon at my office in Manuka and I personally tried to ring you all afternoon. I rang all the numbers I have for you and I went automatically each time to a very pleasant woman who said that all calls had been channelled through to her; she knew not what to say nor where you were. I did not know whether you had something important to discuss with me, such as survival or anything of that nature, so I got into my motor - I got into my Volkswagen - and I came back into the building just to find you, Chief Minister, but regrettably I did not. Chief Minister, I was at my office in Manuka. My question is: were you available yesterday afternoon for phone calls from other Assembly members? Secondly, was your consultant also on strike?
MS FOLLETT: Thank you, Mr Collaery, for the further question. I was in my office all of yesterday afternoon. In fact, I was in my office on the fifth floor yesterday up until about half-past seven at night. I tried to ring Mr Collaery, Mr Speaker, and was informed that he was in his office at Manuka and that a message would be conveyed to him in some way. It is unfortunate that we did not manage to make contact, but life is like that.
Mr Speaker, I realise that yesterday there was some difficulty in the answering of my phone and I do apologise to people who were trying to ring me. It had been switched through, rather inappropriately, I believe. I took calls on my personal line, but of course not everybody, including Mr Collaery, has that number.
Mr Speaker, may I just add that today during the course of the morning I tried to ring WIN television three times. The first time I got through to the reception area and consequently got canned music. The next two times the phone rang until it dropped out. Nobody ever answered it, so I concluded from that that WIN television had also gone on strike for the day. I think it is most regrettable that they have done that without making any arrangements to have
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