Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 2 Hansard (20 May) . . Page.. 387 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

Following the ACTION briefing, Mr Hargreaves has apparently mistaken ACTION's plan for his own plan. We corrected that that night. He has refused to withdraw. Again, it was brought to his attention in the Valley View on the 28th, but still he persists with saying that this was his idea. We all know what happened to Helen Demidenko when she got caught using a story that was not exactly her own. It took Ms Demidenko a while to come to grips with the fact that she was really Helen Darville. I hope that Mr Hargreaves does not end up looking like the Helen Demidenko of the Assembly. Would the real Mr Hargreaves like to stand up?

The shame of this is that the Leader of the Opposition is not present to hear this. Mr Stanhope had to sit through the parking fines fiasco where we had the invention of thousands of parking fines being issued one weekend when there were none. We also had the invention of thousands of parking fines being issued one weekend when there were only six. Now we have a member of the Opposition regurgitating Government policy as if it were his own. I think the new face of Labor has slipped. It is revealed now as nothing but a hollow mask, and what we should have from Mr Stanhope is an apology on behalf of the Labor Party for this embarrassment that Mr Hargreaves is causing his own party. With that in mind, Mr Speaker, I intend to move my own amendment to remove the words "calls on the Government to" and substitute the words "congratulates ACTION management on its work in implementing the Graham report, and notes the Government's intention to undertake a further review of school bus services which will".

In a further amendment I wish to omit the third paragraph, to ensure that the review is done by the end of September. Then we can consult with the users and finetune it to make sure that, when the changes are implemented in first term next year, we provide the best service that we can to all our schoolchildren. I urge members to support the amendments. I seek leave to move the two amendments together.

Leave granted.

MR SMYTH: I move:

(1) Paragraph (2), omit the words "calls on the Government to", substitute "congratulates ACTION management on its work in implementing the Graham report, and notes the Government's intention to undertake a further review of school bus services which will".

(2) Paragraph (3), omit the paragraph, substitute the following paragraph:

"(3) note the Government's intention to conclude the review by September 1998, and for changes to be implemented in Term One 1999, following several months of community consultation.".

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .