Page 1170 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 22 August 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
their own areas of responsibility. I will refrain from dealing at great length with that aspect, but I will mention just an example or two. A superficial scrutiny of the list of achievements attached to the Chief Minister's media release shows that many are no more that statements of intent; they are not achievements at all; for example, the Melba Flats redevelopment. How this project is to be funded and implemented is a matter about which the Government has yet to inform us, so how can it be claimed as an achievement? The Chief Minister seems to be suffering from the delusion that the announcing, initiating or introducing of something equals the achievement of the desired result, and of course that is far from the truth.
Elsewhere the Chief Minister claims to have "ensured access to Commonwealth funding of $22.7m which the ACT would not otherwise have received". This is not supported by any publicly available information, and I can only assume either that there is no foundation for the claim or that the Government's "open and consultative policy" has failed to materialise once again - just another mirage on the Chief Minister's horizon.
Given the present economic situation in Canberra, the most glaring omission from the achievements list is any reference to getting control of land planning and land use policies and legislation, a subject now becoming so hot that we, the Liberals, will be raising it as a matter of public importance tomorrow. Of course, there are also many private home owners out there still waiting for some recognition and some relief from this Government. The Government has ignored them entirely as well.
Despite the Government's self-aggrandisement, it is significant that, even after nearly four months in office, Ministers cannot find sufficient government business to take up available time during scheduled sitting days of this Assembly. An examination of today's notice paper of government business will amply demonstrate that particular problem. I find it difficult to believe after the hiatus in government following the announcement of self-government, now almost a year ago, that there is so little business needing the attention of the Government and the Assembly. Indeed, comments coming to me from the community would indicate that there are many matters of concern that the Government should be addressing as a matter of urgency. But there will be more on that, I am sure, from my colleagues.
I turn to the second question that I posed earlier. A major question surrounding the Government's assertions, of course, is whether the Government can really lay claim to any of these things. The Chief Minister and her Ministers seem to have completely lost sight of the fact that they are a minority government of only five Labor members. They do nothing without the consent of the opposition parties in this Assembly. For them to assume the arrogance - and I use the word advisedly - of a securely entrenched majority government is foolish in the extreme and they delude nobody but themselves.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .