The ACT minority Government is assured of getting its Budget through the Legislative Assembly following a commitment yesterday by two Independents.
Michael Moore and Helen Szuty said their position was different from the Greens and the Democrats in the Federal Senate who with the Opposition forced a changed to some Budget measures.
Mr Moore and Ms Szuty said that before the last election they had given a commitment to guarantee supply and appropriation to the Government and not to move a no-confidence motion in the Chief Minister. The Federal Democrats and Greens had given no such promise.
Mr Moore said yesterday that there had been much destructive instability in the first Assembly, so going into the second election in 1992 he and Ms Szuty (who was grouped with him on the ballot paper) had given a commitment that in the event of neither party obtaining a majority they would support Rosemary Follett as Chief Minister and would ensure stability through Supply and not moving no-confidence motions.
As to new revenue measures not mentioned at the election for which the Government had no specific mandate, Mr Moore said, “”The impression we gave the community at the election was that all the Government’s money bills would go through. We intend to stick to our promise.
“”It does not make a good news story, but it makes better government,” he said.
If the Government produced unmandated measures the Independents said they would ridicule them in Estimates committees and elsewhere.
Ms Szuty said she hoped the ACT Government would learn from the Federal experience and not produce maverick taxes. She hoped also that it would learn from Queensland which had found more money for education and health. Education was especially important.
She called for better targeted expenditure cuts, unlike last year’s across-the-board cuts.
The Leader of the Opposition, Kate Carnell, said the Opposition would not block the Appropriation Bill.
“”But if there were elements of the Budget for which the Chief Minister did not have a mandate and were not in the best interests of Canberrans, it would be our duty to oppose them and we would not be averse to discussing any elements of the Budget with the Independents if they thought them inequitable,” she said.
Opposition sources are concerned that the Government might start a borrowing campaign or raise a bed tax.
The state of the parties is Labor 8; Liberal 6; Independents 3.
The Government needs the support of only one Independent to get a measure through.