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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 12 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 4077 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

I must say that, to Mrs Carnell's credit, when she sat in that seat and she was Leader of the Opposition, she did produce alternatives. She produced her own alternative budget and laid out clearly what she would have done had she found herself in the position of Treasurer. We passed the budgets. We never blocked a budget. What we hear from those opposite is nothing more nor less than grandstanding. Everybody in this chamber knows in their heart of hearts, if they for one minute step aside from the political fray and sit down and carefully ponder the question, that, if miraculously - and I emphasise "miraculously" - that mob opposite were over here facing the same fiscal imperatives, the same problems and the same limited avenues for choice that we face over here, they would be making at least some of the very same decisions which they now criticise in this budget. On that basis I suggest that anybody who for one fleeting moment thinks that those opposite have a good point when they criticise element X, Y or Z of this budget should think again, because in fact the Opposition are behaving like the very worst kind of opposition that there is.

MR BERRY (11.53): Mr Speaker, is it not amazing? I have heard Mrs Carnell twisting the facts around to create a false impression of what is really going on. Mrs Carnell said, for example, "We are going to stimulate the economy". She mentioned the Kick Start program. We tried to get an indication from Mr Stefaniak about how much money they have actually put into the Kick Start program. Methinks none. How can you stimulate something without putting any money into it?

Mr Stefaniak: Two and a half million over a year, Wayne. Read your papers.

MR BERRY: It is not in there yet. Mrs Carnell said that it is already happening; that the economy has been stimulated. We have not spent any money. What a joke it is to say that the Kick Start program is already working! You have not spent any money yet. One thing for sure, with the help of Mr - - -

Mr Stefaniak: There is two and half million bucks in there, Wayne.

MR BERRY: How much have you spent, Mr Stefaniak, in the Kick Start program - anything or nothing?

Mr Stefaniak: We have spent a bit already, Wayne. Do not worry. There is $2.5m to spend.

MR BERRY: But you have not spent much yet. You do not know how much you have spent. They did stimulate the MBA today. They handed them $300,000 worth of taxpayers' money.

Mr De Domenico: That could be misleading. Be very careful what you say.

MR BERRY: You passed the Bill.

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Berry! Relevance! We are discussing the Appropriation Bill and we happen to be on Part 3, Chief Minister's Department - if anybody is interested.

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