Page 2626 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 1994
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MS FOLLETT: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. As I was saying, everybody expects politicians to put their point of view, to argue their case, and to try to discredit their opponents' point of view. Nobody would blame the Liberal Party and Mrs Carnell for attacking the Government on real issues - indeed, I would not - and for holding us accountable; but, with leadership comes responsibility, and the hardliners in the Liberal Party believe in success, their own success, that is, at all costs and at any costs. They do not understand that there is a difference between the narrow political interests of the Liberal Party and the overall interests of our community.
When Mrs Carnell aspires to be a leader she has to accept that part of her responsibility is to take the broader view - to consider the community. Her responsibility should extend to controlling the darker forces in the Liberal Party, and there are plenty of them. Mr Deputy Speaker, real leadership is about recognising that winning is not always everything. Mrs Carnell should understand that there would be no joy for her or for our community in presiding over the smoking ruins which the leftovers from the Alliance Government - look at them over there - are prepared to create in an effort to win. I believe, Mr Deputy Speaker, that, if there has been any damage to the ACT, it is in no small part due to the desperate, irresponsible and reckless behaviour of the Opposition.
MR DE DOMENICO (4.03): Mr Deputy Speaker, what a pitiful attempt from this pitiful Chief Minister to defend what has to be the most incredibly monumental abrogation of responsibility and administrative muck-up that this Government will ever be in charge of! Those are not just my words; they are the words of every political commentator in this country, for heaven's sake. This matter of public importance is not just what the ACT has lost in terms of money, but what else it has lost.
Let us have a look. What a wonderful example this Government has shown the people of Australia of how to pick boards! It had to sack every member of the board it hand-picked itself. It demanded that they resign or it sacked them. Great responsibility was shown by the Chief Minister of the ACT. What a magnificent set of legal advice this Government listened to before the former Minister agreed that the TAB should sign the contract! That is good for the ACT as well, Chief Minister. What a wonderful example of how not to administer any portfolio that this Government controls! It controlled nothing. Who can ever forget the fact that the former Minister came into the other place, before we moved into this place, and said, "I am about to revert the ACTTAB to a statutory authority so that I can have complete control."? He got complete control, and guess what he did with it? We all know what he did with it.
The other thing it showed the world is what a great amount of business knowledge, a wonderful amount of business knowledge, this Government had. Time and time again we heard the former Minister and the Chief Minister say in this place, "It was a good deal. We saw a good deal and we grabbed it with both hands". They were the words that were used by the former Minister. What a marvellous deal it has proved to be! Whom has it affected? It has affected the reputation of the ACT throughout the length and breadth of this country. There is also the potential for job losses among the agents and subagents and in the racing industry, and very little was said about that. This was such a good deal that no-one thought of that.
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