Page 28 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 22 February 1994
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Madam Speaker, I very much look forward to the creation of a separate ACT public service. I do regard it as much more important that we get it right than that we snipe across the chamber at each other, and that is what this Government is intending to do.
Mr Kaine: We do not know what you are doing yet. We have not seen your legislation.
MS FOLLETT: But you will, next month.
MR DE DOMENICO (3.56): Madam Speaker, the last remark of the Chief Minister was incredible. She said, "It is better to get things right than just to snipe at each other across the chamber". I would like to take umbrage at those comments made by the Chief Minister because - - -
Mr Lamont: Because all you can do is snipe across the chamber.
MR DE DOMENICO: And at the echo at the back there. Chief Minister, this chamber's role is to entertain ourselves by debating the issues of concern to the community. I cannot recall one time when Mr Kaine was Chief Minister when he spoke at a forum of public servants and used that forum to attack the Labor Party. The Chief Minister the other day had an excellent opportunity to come out with her Government's vision on how to attack the imposition of the ACT public service; but, no, what did she do? She attacked the Liberal Party. She attacked the Opposition. So much for the vision and whatever that this Government has. Mr Kaine was right. There was no vision. There was no direction. It was an opportunity lost. It was an opportunity for the Chief Minister to give her visionary statement about what novel ideas she has in mind in establishing the new ACT public service. It was lost totally.
The other words that the Chief Minister uttered were also pathetic. She said that Mr Kaine did not know what is occurring and that he was confused. I will tell you what; Mr Kaine knows what is occurring today, and so do the people of the ACT. This wonderful Chief Minister, with her vision for the public service, ought to be reminded that today there are no buses in the ACT. The Transport Workers Union is so happy with that vision that its members are all off work. Why are they all off work? Let us look at the words of the Transport Workers Union. Do not listen to what the Opposition says; listen to the Transport Workers Union. A press release dated yesterday, put out by Mr Schulz, said:
Our members are outraged that the tardiness of the Chief Minister's Department has continued into the New Year.
He went on to say this:
We believed that the industrial action taken by our membership in December had convinced the Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Berry, to take this matter seriously. Instead, his Department is continuing to delay and obstruct the final approval of the agreement.
The enterprise bargaining agreement struck between the Transport Workers Union and management at ACTION provides for savings of at least $6.5m off the subsidy paid by the Canberra community for public transport services.
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