Page 3039 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 11 September 1990
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true figure is almost 21,000. Is the man responsible for the false figure of 17,000 the same person who has been shown to have ignored the guidelines for engaging consultants - guidelines which he prepared himself - before the PA committee last week, as reported in the Canberra Times on 7 September?
Mr Collaery: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I believe this matter is before a committee of the Assembly at the moment.
MR SPEAKER: It may well be, but I do not believe that is a valid point of order.
MR KAINE: I appreciate the Attorney raising the point of order, but I am quite prepared to answer the question. First of all, I have never used the figure of 17,000 with certainty. I have always known it to be approximate. You may be right; it may be 21,000. I have nothing to suggest that it is, but then the numbers change from day to day and it depends whether you count statutory authorities or whether you count only people that belong to the ACT Government per se.
Mr Berry: How can you put together a budget if you do not know how many people work for you?
MR KAINE: You did it pretty well last year; but, of course, you lived with the results of that too. The fact is that there is an ACT Government Service and that figure includes teachers, it includes nurses, it includes firemen, it includes all of those people who are on the ACT Government Service payroll. I do not know whether it is 17,000 or not, and I do not need to know to the nth person, and neither did Mr Berry - Trotsky - when he presented his budget last year. He did not know either. There is no relevance to his gratuitous comments anyway.
As to the second part of the question, it implies impropriety and it relates to a matter that is under debate and under investigation in a committee of this Assembly. I do not intend to comment on it at this stage.
Liberal Party - ACT Division
MRS GRASSBY: My question is to the Treasurer. Is the Treasurer, Mr Kaine, aware that the ACT branch of the Liberal Party has been entering into licensing arrangements rather than leasing arrangements with its tenants in order to minimise its stamp duty obligations? What action will you take to ensure that such flagrant abuse does not continue? Do you agree that such behaviour by the ACT Liberal Party totally discredits any budgetary initiatives a Liberal Treasurer announces?
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