VIC: Federal ministers ignore Victoria, says Kennett

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-1999
VIC: Federal ministers ignore Victoria, says Kennett

By Peter Barber, State Political Correspondent

MELBOURNE, April 8 AAP - Victorian federal ministers had abandoned their home state and
contributed to the New South Wales bias of the Howard government, Premier Jeff Kennett said
today in an extraordinary attack on fellow Liberals.

Mr Kennett attacked six Liberal ministers by name in a pre-emptive strike on new
commonwealth-state grants rules to be aired at tomorrow's premiers' conference in Canberra,
which he said "dudded" Victoria.

On his weekly spot on radio 3AW, Mr Kennett said the problem was not just Treasurer Peter
Costello, with whom he is reported to have had a testy relationship.

Others who had failed to contribute to Victoria were his Victorian Cabinet compatriots
including Workplace Relations Minister Peter Reith, Health Minister Michael Wooldridge, Youth
Affairs Minister David Kemp and Communications Minister Richard Alston, as well as Assistant
Treasurer Rod Kemp.

"We may as well not have them," Mr Kennett said. "They're not advocates for Victoria. They
don't actually go in to bat for us on anything - anything.

"They're part of the federal government, so they will argue that they've got to administer
equitably. But New South Wales, under Keating and John Howard, continues to gain most of the
benefits and the largesse ..."

Mr Kennett has attacked new Grants Commission proposals to be discussed at the conference
tomorrow, which he warned would cost Victoria $100 million a year for five years.

The state was being "dudded" because of its small land mass and tiny Aboriginal population,
while what he termed the badly focused, inconsistent and directionless state of NSW was being
rewarded for its inefficiencies with an extra $166 million a year, he said.

The Labor Government of Prime Minister Paul Keating had done nothing to aid Victoria's
economic recovery.

Then John Howard's Liberals had taken over and immediately taken $370 million out of the
state to help fill its own so-called budget black hole, he said.

Victorian ALP leader Steve Bracks said Mr Kennett was allowing his feud with Peter Costello
to endanger commonwealth funding.

"In the past 12 months alone, Mr Kennett's poisonous personal relationship with federal
Liberal Party figures has cost Victoria more than $230 million dollars," Mr Bracks said.

This included crisis relief funds during the fortnight-long gas stoppage last year, gun
buy-back compensation and general revenue assistance, with another $95 million likely to be
cut from grants funding.

In the 3AW interview, Mr Kennett was forced to defend his use of the word 'prick' in an
earlier radio interview to describe gas cheats who refused to turn off their meters during
last year's stoppage.

Asked if there were any pricks in Canberra, Mr Kennett replied: "I would suspect quite a
few."

Outside the studio, Mr Kennett said he would not be surprised if Parliament House was moved
to Sydney.

"It's fundamentally operating from there anyway, and we're paying a real penalty," he told
reporters.

Later, after addressing the National Press Club in Canberra, Mr Kennett, asked to name the
pricks in Canberra, said: "Probably the journalists".

Peter Costello said he worked flat-out for Victoria.

Mr Reith dismissed Mr Kennett's attacks as the traditional sabre-rattling before a
premier's conference.

"I don't take the comments seriously," Mr Reith said.

AAP pjb/er/was

KEYWORD: PREMIERS VIC NIGHTLEAD

1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.