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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2524 ..

Mr Stefaniak: Several legal opinions.

MR MOORE: Several legal opinions. I had the opposite legal opinion. That is what the law is about. Lawyers have jobs because they give opinions. Different lawyers give different opinions. It was a matter of legal opinion that could have been resolved on the floor of this house. I do not wish to reflect on the vote. It was resolved on the floor of this house because you did not accept my invitation to vote for my amendment.

I would like to move away from that issue and get to the real point of the porky pies of the Government. This Government is telling us that there were no cuts to education.

Mr Stefaniak: We said that we would maintain it in real terms, in 1994-95 figures.

MR MOORE: At the same time they said that they would maintain funding in real terms and all that sort of business. They keep putting it in that way. I have in my hand a document entitled "1995-96 Budget: Government Schooling", which has been put out by the Education Department. In a short while, after I have read from it, I will seek leave to table this document. On the second page of the document there is this statement: "After `maintenance of funds' provision and other adjustments, need $4.7m to balance budget". If you like, read that back to front; there is a $4.7m cut. That is what it is. We have it on official paper from the Education Department, which was used as part of the briefing material. The briefing material is usually for me. In this case the Education Union was kind enough to fax it to me because it was used to brief the union. There is a $4.7m cut. When I say that the Government is telling porkies, that is what they have to be. It is a porky. If I were in government now I would be particularly embarrassed.

One of the items just above that is, "Biggest item the 1994 wage increase - it was unfunded". The amount is $6.9m. There is also provision for the opening of two new schools. There is a whole series of items listed. It actually goes on to list items identified to try to account for this shortfall in the budget. That is also known as a cut. There is a total of $3.15m. To do that, $1m is taken off here and there. There is $1.2m in central office; $0.2m in contracting out at Birrigai; colleges free to run evening programs, $0.25m; system pool reduction, $0.25m. The department is considering further options, because $3.15m was not enough. The department did not want to put down the other options, which include taking teachers away from high schools; cutting the number of teachers, which this Government, when it was in opposition, prevented from happening. There is just a tad of hypocrisy from the Government on this matter.

This is the issue that I have taken to the Chief Minister almost daily for the last couple of weeks. I do not recall any day that I did not raise a matter with her. There may have been one. I know that the kind invitation from the Labor Party to put them in government instead is there. But look at 1993; you were doing the same thing. At least you were doing it clearly by saying that it was 2 per cent. You made that point, and that is a valid point. You were quite open. Mr Whitecross says, "Yes; but we have changed".

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