Pubdate: Tue, 04 Jul 2000 Source: Canberra Times (Australia) Copyright: 2000 Canberra Times Contact: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/ Author: Jeff Centenera CARNELL BACKS DOWN The Carnell Government reached an agreement yesterday with key Independents to resolve the ACT Budget crisis by deferring the divisive heroin-injecting room trial until after the next election. Chief Minister Kate Carnell said ACT voters would be allowed to decide the fate of the trial, while the $800,000 allocated for it in the Budget would be used for drug-education programs. Independents Paul Osborne and Dave Rugendyke voted against the Budget last week on the basis of the trial. Opposition Leader Jon Stanhope said yesterday afternoon that Labor would support the Government's Budget if the injecting-room trial was presented in a separate appropriation Bill, effectively allowing both measures to pass the Assembly. Mr Stanhope said the Opposition had adjusted its position to the changing situation. He reiterated his utter disbelief that Mrs Carnell had not resigned after the Budget was initially blocked last Thursday. He said Mrs Carnell and Health Minister Michael Moore had abandoned the injecting-room issue. "This is a backflip of enormous proportions," he said. But Mrs Carnell said the agreement with the Independents had been reached yesterday morning, and the Opposition had never presented her with a proposal. "It's a negotiated settlement, it's a bit of a win-win, the SIP [safe-injecting place] stays on the books but the people of Canberra get to have their say at the next election," she said. The Government maintained throughout last week that it would not allow the Budget to be picked apart. "Jon Stanhope's suggestion that the ALP will support the appropriation for the injecting room and the Budget if the Government splits the Bills is patently ludicrous," Mrs Carnell said. "He is now saying he basically supports the budget in total - why not last Thursday?" "Mr Stanhope hasn't approached me at all. When we went into Cabinet to discuss this [yesterday] afternoon, there was nothing on the table." Mrs Carnell said the Labor Party had changed its position three times over the past three days. She accused Mr Stanhope of "making it up as he goes". She said the Government and the cross-benchers had acted with urgency to resolve the Budget situation, and would attempt to have the Assembly recalled next Monday. "This shows the importance of a minority government being able to negotiate with the Independent MLAs, something the ALP has consistently failed at," she said. Mr Stanhope said the Chief Minister had been blackmailed by the Independents over the injecting-room issue and had shown the maintenance of power was more important to them than principle. He said he had met Mrs Carnell yesterday morning and discussed the full range of issues. "This is an outrageous back-down by the Liberals," he said. "I'm quite devastated at the extent to which Mrs Carnell, Mr Moore, Mr Osborne and Mr Rugendyke are prepared to trash accepted and acceptable principles . . . We simply cannot allow two rogue independents, who have no respect for parliamentary conventions, to hold the Government, the Assembly and the community to ransom," he said. Mr Osborne and Mr Rugendyke said yesterday they had been consistent where nobody else had. They were both pleased to let the electorate decide about the injecting room. Mr Osborne said he had been confused by the Labor position when negotiating with them. "I don't know what their motivation is," he said. "It's pretty clear what Dave and I oppose. Last week, Labor's saying, 'We're in opposition, we've got to oppose the Budget.' Now [yesterday] they change their position." - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst