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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 11 Hansard (9 December) . . Page.. 3364 ..

MR OSBORNE: I have a supplementary question. Minister, are you aware that ACT health inspectors and administrative staff, through their union, have lodged a vote of no confidence in the department and have totally rejected the draft review's recommendations? Are you also aware that they have submitted a strongly worded response outlining the lack of consultation with the staff and the ACT public and serious errors of fact and pointing out the huge risks to ACT Health, in their view, if this report is adopted? Are you aware of that?

MR MOORE: Mr Osborne, it is really interesting to see the approach taken by some unions. It is probably an approach that you will not understand very well. Sometimes when something is put out the approach is to give it a king hit and see whether that has an effect. That is an approach that I know has been taken by some members of this Assembly at various times. I think you would be aware of that, although you may not be able to recall certain specific incidents, even within the last little while. Then they move back to see whether there is a middle position. Mr Speaker, I think it is appropriate for the Government to have made that review public in the sense of making it available to the people who are going to be affected by it. We will continue to negotiate on it.

MR HIRD: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Chief Minister. I refer to yesterday's release of a report by the Australia Institute which looked at ACTEW Corporation. In particular, I refer to page 25 of the report, which says:

... the Government, as majority owner, can set ACTEW's dividend at any level it chooses. If the Government so desires, it could require dividends of $183m every year, just as it did in 1997-98.

Chief Minister, is that statement by the Australia Institute factual?

Mr Quinlan: Sure it is; it is in the book.

MS CARNELL: If it is in the book it must be; that is Mr Quinlan's view. All I can hope, Mr Speaker, is that if anybody ever decides to do so, Mr Quinlan is Treasurer and ends up in gaol. I do thank Mr Hird for the question. Mr Speaker, just 24 hours after it was released, much of the report by the Australia Institute has been discredited. Within two hours, the Government revealed the existence of a $1 billion hole in the institute's assessment of our superannuation problem.

Mr Stanhope: That is rubbish, absolute rubbish.

MS CARNELL: Mr Stanhope says that that is rubbish. I would love Mr Stanhope to get up in this place and explain why it is rubbish, because then we would fundamentally take him apart on it.

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