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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 3 Hansard (9 March) . . Page.. 815 ..
MR BERRY: If you had taken the time to read the paper this morning you could have seen the future. This is the future: "Telstra job losses" - - -
Mr Humphries: Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, I take a point of order. We have a big day of debate here in front of us. Yet Mr Berry continues to distract us on the issue of Telstra. I do not think Telstra appears in the motion before the Assembly. It is irrelevant to this present debate. No-one is proposing a merger between ACTEW and Telstra, and references to Telstra are irrelevant.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: I think the member is drawing the house's attention to what he feels may or may not happen.
MR BERRY: Thank you, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. Good decision. It says in the paper:
The key Independent had sought assurances from AGL's representatives that a two-year guarantee on the security of all Actew employees' positions would be included ...
So what! Two years for employees that might have 10 or 20 years, and you have given them two years.
Mr Rugendyke: What have you secured for them? Nothing, zero, zip.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Rugendyke!
MR BERRY: And you have given them two years! Good on you, Dave! What a great outcome! Good on you, Uncle Dave! You have turned future prospects into two years! Great, mate! I hope they live in your electorate, mate. The people who are smiling most about this are the Greens because they can see you gradually undoing yourself with these sorts of silly decisions.
On the one hand, you might say that this is a very naive position for Mr Rugendyke to take. You can expect the Government to say it; you can expect the Government to make all these promises because they have a position where they want to sell this thing - they have had it from the outset. But for Mr Rugendyke to be suckered in by this one just beggars belief.
Mr Rugendyke: I rise on a point of order, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. I wonder whether there is a standing order that might relate to a speaker simply reading us the news.
MR BERRY: No, no.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Mr Rugendyke! You are wasting time. There is no point of order.
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