Page 4749 - Week 15 - Thursday, 16 December 1993
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which provides an environmental ombudsman role to investigate complaints and to produce annual state of the environment reports; the Tobacco Products (Health Warnings) (Amendment) Bill, which gives effect to the national agreement on a new health warning labelling system for tobacco products; a Bill to regulate providers of education services for overseas students; and the Sports (Drug Testing) Bill, which established a statutory regime for testing for evidence of drug use as an artificial aid to sport performance. In addition to these Bills, a number were introduced which reformed many aspects of the criminal law and law relating to our legal system. The Attorney-General will provide more detail on these shortly.
Of course, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, much of the business of government is not glamorous or reported in the media. It involves the day-to-day matters which do not feature in Assembly debate. Many of these matters of daily administration were the subject of commitments by this Government prior to the 1992 election. The Government has been quietly working on the implementation of these commitments, with a great number coming to fruition in 1993. I will provide you with a brief sample of these achievements. There was an additional small business incubation centre opened this year; extra funding has been provided for walking trails, interpretative signs and the provision of maps and information leaflets to help people enjoy our parks and nature reserves; the introduction of a purchasing policy for recycled paper; the establishment of a committee to assist ACT cultural groups to obtain sponsorship and to market their work and performance; the promotion of an annual Australian Theatre Festival; the provision of long-term shared housing for young people; the introduction of a safety house scheme; the further development of initiatives to enable people with disabilities to live as independently as possible; and further extension of the "park and ride" and "three for free" schemes. This represents only a small sample of the many unheralded achievements of the Government this year.
Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, no description of the Government's proud record of achievement in 1993 would be complete without a reference to the launch of the new Territory Plan in October. This represented the culmination of four years of work to produce a plan that would provide a clear vision for Canberra's development into the future. Nor could I let the opportunity pass without reminding members of my statement earlier highlighting the Government's achievements in marking the International Year of the World's Indigenous Peoples.
Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I can only repeat my opening comments. The Government's performance in 1993 has been excellent, marked on any measure by solid runs on the board across the full range of government activity. This is in stark contrast to the Opposition, whose performances ranged from the ineffective, through the irrelevant to the irresponsible. Their irresponsibility was dramatically underscored in relation to the budget when, unable to come up with a coherent alternative financial strategy, the infamous amendment - - -
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