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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 765 ..
MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, we have heard this argument before. Mr Speaker, once again it is frustrating to hear the Opposition continue to resist any engagement at all with the arguments the Government has put forward in this matter. It simply refuses to talk on the same level. We continue to put arguments about this matter and they continue to talk at a different level about these issues, Mr Speaker. The Opposition has either a lack of understanding or a deliberate inability to engage with those sorts of issues. I remind members that the Government was severely criticised for proceeding with a large amount of publicly funded work on the sale of ACTEW a year or more ago - - -
Mr Corbell: That is because you were ruling it out and yet you were financing the study at the same time.
MR SPEAKER: Order! You have asked your question, Mr Corbell.
MR HUMPHRIES: I see. So now it turns out that it was all right to rule it out, Mr Speaker.
Mr Stanhope: After you broke your election promise.
Mr Moore: Rubbish.
MR HUMPHRIES: I quote from Mr Corbell himself in the Assembly - - -
Mr Stanhope: You broke all of yours, Mr Moore, as every person who voted for you knows.
MR SPEAKER: Be quiet, both sides, and let the Treasurer answer the question.
MR HUMPHRIES: I quote from Mr Corbell in the Assembly on 20 April last year when he said:
The fact that it has changed, the fact that this Government is, in a pre-emptive way, pursuing a merger option does underscore the fundamental lack of trust that this Assembly and this community have in this Government when it comes to the management of one of our most significant assets.
Namely, ACTEW. Now, instead of pre-empting the Assembly by doing the work - doing the valuation work and the other work on this merger - for which we were criticised during the proposed sale of ACTEW, we are coming back and asking the Assembly the other way round. We are asking for it to give a green light before it spends the money on the work. Mr Speaker, I have to ask again of the Assembly: What are we supposed to do? If we do the work before asking for the approval, we get into trouble. If we ask for the approval before doing the work we get into trouble. What are we supposed to do? Obviously, as far as the Opposition is concerned, we should not do the work.
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