Page 614 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 21 March 1990
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and ensure that we do not have these conferences which exclude full public debate - like the conference of the Institution of Engineers today. I think it is totally irresponsible of the Institution of Engineers to set up a conference along those lines, which excludes people who are concerned about the environment because, by and large, those who express their concern about the environment are not supported by big money, as opposed to those who support land speculation and making money. They, of course, in turn, are supported by that very same money.
People in Australia have become very aware of what it is like to feel the pinch. The economic policies of the past 20 years have meant that ordinary people have had to watch things tightening up while the wealthy corporate citizens get wealthier and wealthier. That will not be tolerated. Neither of the major parties have done anything about it, nor do they appear to be prepared to do anything about it. I can assure members that middle class working Australia has just about had enough. That applies to this very fast train project as well. There is a way for it to go, there is a way for it to be an advantage to citizens, and a very big advantage - - -
Mr Kaine: Michael is going to vote Democrat.
MR MOORE: I hear Mr Kaine interjecting that I am going to vote Democrat. I can tell him that as yet I have not made up my mind which way I am going to vote, and even if I had I would not be about to share that knowledge with him.
I propose to encourage public support for the very fast train project, as Mr Whalan has suggested, and that is quite right. But I make it clear that I support the very fast train project on the more western route. I am very keen that there should be specific studies on environmental planning and development issues - and I should say there that I accept that planning includes development in general jargon. Therefore, I am prepared to support what Mr Whalan has suggested, and this shabby move by Mr Kaine to try to take over a private member's motion and make his Government look good is nothing more than that - a shabby attempt to take over private members' initiatives in the same way as Mr Collaery did this morning. I shall vote against Mr Kaine's amendment.
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (11.45): The last few sentences of Mr Moore's diatribe seemed to feature the word "shabby" and I think that is an indication of the shabbiness of the sorts of things that Mr Moore brought to bear in this debate. I am frankly sick and tired of hearing how the Alliance Government is going to give $30m to people to develop the VFT concept, and I hereby challenge Mr Moore to produce one iota of evidence that Mr Kaine has ever, at any stage, indicated that that is what the Government is going to do. One quote, one piece of paper, even a misquoted piece from that pinnacle of shabbiness, the Canberra Times, will give him his answer -
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