Page 3067 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 11 September 1990
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MR HUMPHRIES: I knew there would be something to bring him back. But he knows as well as everybody else involved in the hospital system that you cannot compare beds approved with operational beds. When he and the public of this Territory see the figures they will realise that the Chief Minister's claim that no public hospital beds will be lost as a result of this process is a fully achievable objective and one which the Alliance Government will stick to.
I think it would be unfortunate if we get into debate today. Ms Follett's response comes down on Thursday, and I look forward to that. However, I personally am very proud to have been associated with this budget. It is, in my view, a very fair, reasonable and far-sighted budget. I think that the Territory will bear the mark of this far-sightedness for many years to come.
Budget Speech
MR MOORE (4.10): I think in one way the budget delivery today is a sad start; that is, the members were not given the speech of the Chief Minister as he delivered it. As far as I can recall, it is the very first time in this Assembly that somebody who has a prepared speech has not - - -
Mr Humphries: It is only the second budget.
MR MOORE: No, of all prepared speeches, Mr Humphries, this is the first time I am aware of that the speech has not been available to members to follow, as it is made. Certainly there were a couple of times when I wanted to check something that Mr Kaine had said to make sure that I actually did have it correct so that I would not be put in the position that Mr Humphries suggested Mr Berry would be in, of going outside and uttering some falsehood about the proceedings in here today.
It is a very sad reflection of the attitude shown by the Chief Minister and the Government to the rest of the Assembly that they did not provide us with budget paper No. 1 until the end of the proceedings today. I wonder what possible reason they could have for this. Do they think we could somehow or other subvert what they were doing by perhaps getting it a little bit early? Do they think we would race outside to say to a journo, "Look, this is what he is going to say", and pre-empt it by all of five or ten minutes, or something horrific?
I just cannot help wondering whether some of Mr Collaery's demonstrated paranoia has actually gone across to the Chief Minister. Is the Chief Minister actually now suffering from the same sort of paranoia? I do not believe that to be the case, because I find it hard to believe that anybody would be suffering from the same sort of paranoia as that from which Mr Collaery suffers. But I think the point is
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