Page 2917 - Week 13 - Thursday, 23 November 1989
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was quite specific about where those cuts were going to fall. He later negotiated, after the teachers complained, and he backed away from certain of those announcements that he made and put $2.5m back into the budget, I understand, as a result of the negotiations. These are the figures that the Minister has quoted. My question is quite specific: if there is a change to the bottom line of his budget, compared with what was originally announced, why did it not show up in the budget that was finally approved by the Assembly this morning?
MR WHALAN: Mr Speaker, first of all, let us get it quite clear: the document which was passed by this Assembly this morning is the Appropriation Bill. It has been on the table of this chamber for quite some weeks, so there is nothing new or novel about the document. I would have thought that, if this concern were genuine, it would have been raised during the appropriation debate itself, rather than during question time.
The fact is that this Government went through a process of consultation in relation to the budget. In relation to the education part of the budget the consultation process included, first of all, consultation at the level of the main consultative group which was established by the Chief Minister - - -
Mr Kaine: Which was a sham.
MR WHALAN: It was not a sham. At the final meeting of that particular consultative group, Mr Collaery and Mr Kaine stormed out in a tantrum and were not present, but all the - - -
Mr Kaine: On a point of order, Mr Speaker; that is a misrepresentation of the facts, and the Minister knows it. Mr Collaery and I announced our intention to the Chief Minister that we would not attend the final meeting long before it took place. We did not storm out in a tantrum.
MR SPEAKER: Order!
Mr Kaine: I am sick of being misrepresented, Mr Speaker.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Kaine, you will have an opportunity to claim to have been misrepresented. That is not a point of order. Please proceed, Minister.
MR WHALAN: We had to send ambassadors to the first floor to persuade Trevor to come back again at one stage, so it was - - -
Mr Collaery: On a point of order, Mr Speaker; this is the flavour of the Government we have. Look at them, Mr Speaker; look at him. Shame! We sent a letter to the Chief Minister.
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