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."