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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1995 Week 9 Hansard (23 November) . . Page.. 2525 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

I can see that Mr Whitecross has been added to the bench and that Mr Lamont is no longer there. I still have a little bit of trepidation, and at this point I am not ready to change the government. On that issue, the reality is that Mrs Carnell is now in this position: If we vote against the line item and she does not resign, then we have got her for misleading the Assembly. Then we can take her out. We are in a win-win position. You still have a couple of opportunities. It is not too late, guys. There are still a couple of opportunities to correct this.

First of all, I say to the Government: It is not too late for you to move the amendment to your own budget. You have been telling porkies, and it is time to correct that situation. We are not even asking for the $4.7m; we are asking for $3.8m to be taken from the Treasurer's Advance and moved across. It is not too late. That is what you should be doing. You have been telling us that there are no cuts. Your own Government documentation, from your department, Bungalow Bill, is - - -

MR SPEAKER: Order! Please refer to the Minister by his correct name.

MR MOORE: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Stefaniak, from your own department you have this - - -

Mr Berry: He is known in his own department as that.

MR MOORE: Indeed. These papers show a $4.7m cut. You have been saying all the way along, you have been arguing here while doing the fancy paper footwork, "No; it is not really a cut. We are doing things exactly as we are. It is all hunky-dory. It is all above board". Of course, it is not.

Mrs Carnell: It is.

MR MOORE: For heaven's sake, we still have the Chief Minister saying that it is. Here it is from your department. You should now accept the message, accept the weight of opinion of the Assembly and change it. That way we do not interfere with the self-government Act, the legal opinions or any of those things. You recognise that you made a genuine mistake, because it is quite clear that until this document you genuinely believed that you did not make the cuts. You ought to be increasing the amount by $4.7m, I have to tell you. That would be reasonable. We took the conservative view and took the $3.8m figure - - -

Mr Berry: You have nothing to bargain with. You said that you were going to support this budget. What is the point of arguing with them?

MR MOORE: I will be happy with the $3.8m figure. Keep good faith, instead of telling the porkies. We heard some of the porkies. Now that the exact figures have been shown to you, you should be moving an amendment. They are in this document. I will seek leave to table it shortly, but I want to use it for a bit longer. You have been telling those porkies. The idea is that, to keep good faith, you should move that amendment yourself. You can do it off the top of your head, or you can borrow my wording. You should move it. You can do that; no worries at all. That is why I think that it is appropriate for you to change that.

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