Page 2075 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 25 October 1989
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Mr Ramsey, in reporting comments by Paul Keating, demonstrated that by abolishing the capital gains tax, part of the Peacock tax proposal, $600m might flow to the company known as Harlin, which is reportedly Mr Elliott's private company. That is a very important windfall. The article quotes Mr Keating as saying:
What he's saying is that someone from Wollongong -
Mr Collaery would have some sympathy with this, I am sure -
who's been working for 30 years, who's 55 years of age and lost a job, is a bludger! Who IS the bludger? Elliott sitting with a contingent capital gains benefit being relieved of tax by his mates in the Coalition! ... Billions given back to the wealthiest, while we chase some poor person, 55 or 45, out of a job in Sydney or Wollongong or somewhere else, and say, "You can go to the Smith Family. You can go down to St Vincent de Paul ...".
According to Mr Elliott, they fall into the category of being bludgers. Again, I go back to my earlier remarks about the close consideration that the Residents Rally party ought to give to any contemplation that they might have of falling into line with people like the Liberal Party, when those sorts of policies are at the heart of the direction that they would take on welfare issues.
I am sure that you would be very concerned about that, Mr Collaery, because of your closeness with the community and your concern about those of us in the community who do not do so well. I have heard you say it so many times in relation to the many years that you lived around the Wollongong area. I thought it might be something that would strike a chord with you because of the reference to the poor people in Wollongong.
Merle Mitchell, President of the Australian Council of Social Services, aptly said - - -
Mr Humphries: I rise on a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Minister has sought leave to make a ministerial statement. A copy of the statement has been handed to members. The Minister has been speaking for five minutes already and has not gone further than the second paragraph of the statement. The Minister is making a speech. He is not speaking to the statement at all. There are only a few words that have already been spoken from the statement.
MR SPEAKER: Please stick to the issue, Minister Berry.
MR BERRY: Thank you, Mr Speaker, but in response to what Mr Humphries said, that was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald and it was relevant to the statement. I can understand why reports like that would make the Liberal Party uncomfortable, because they demonstrate the depths to
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