Page 895 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 20 April 2021
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when they could not work from home. They kept their shelves stocked and their aisles full. They shifted their business offerings when restrictions were enforced. They kept our city moving. These local businesses deserve a government that backs them. They deserve a government that gets things done. And they deserve a government that keeps its promises.
My role in opposition, of course, is to hold the government to account on its promises to Canberrans. But my role is also to support the government when it brings proposals into this place that will benefit our community. One such area I am proud of is the Canberra Liberals’ commitment to protecting our environment and taking effective action on climate change.
I note the city services minister’s commitment to ensuring that Canberra phases out single-use plastics. I am very proud to lead a Canberra Liberals party room that supported this legislation. Removing unnecessary single-use plastics from our community is a good, practical change we can make as a community to help preserve and protect our environment. I hope, however, that this government undertakes greater consultation with local businesses, many of whom are yet to learn of the implications of these reforms.
Canberra is also home to Australia’s greatest minds. Institutions like the ANU, UC, CSIRO, CIT and the Academy of Science offer policymakers in this place a wealth of information and solutions to policy challenges. We must work with industry and our institutions to tackle the next stage of action on climate change. I am proud of the Canberra Liberals’ commitment to protecting our local environment and look forward to working towards sensible and sustainable emissions reduction solutions that do not hurt those who can least afford it.
The story of this budget is not just the Chief Minister’s continued economic mismanagement of our territory; it is also about the government’s arrogant, lazy and disrespectful approach to the Attorney-General’s portfolio. The review into the implementation of the Family Violence Act was so damning that the review sat with this government for 12 months before it was made public. Even then it was only publicly released as a result of a freedom of information request.
Labor and the Greens purposely delayed the release of the review in fear of the political ramifications. It is unacceptable for this government to hide and delay the release of this report, to argue over comments critical of its own failures to address domestic and family violence in our community. This budget was an opportunity for the Attorney-General to show what an ACT government with the right priorities and the right leadership can accomplish. The government could have led the way by tabling a timely response to the review and by undertaking the necessary legislative reforms to ensure an actual and positive impact on families affected by this horrible scourge. Instead, this report sat on the minister’s desk for a year, gathering dust.
In the recent estimates hearings the government also revealed some alarming yet unsurprising news. During the COVID-19 pandemic, several ACT Supreme Court judge-alone trials took place without the consent of the accused, with at least one case currently under appeal. (Second speaking period taken.) In the early stages of the
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