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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 5 Hansard (10 May) . . Page.. 1390 ..

MR STANHOPE: Absolutely.

Ms Carnell: We are the government. It was our responsibility.

MR STANHOPE: The Chief Minister says it is the reason that they did it the way they did. As I said, and I guess I do not need to labour the point, I wish Impulse every success. I hope for the sake of our $10 million and for the future economy of the ACT that it is a roaring success.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services) (4.17): Mr Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak on Mr Hird's matter of public importance because it is important that we understand the impacts. I have never heard from Mr Stanhope such a qualified and so unsupportive speech of this proposal. He said anybody who would not support this would have rocks in his head, yet why is he always so qualified? Why is it always couched in the negative? Why is there no positivity from the Opposition? It is because they do not like what we are getting on with. He should take a leaf out of Mr Quinlan's book. Mr Quinlan at least had the courage to stand up and say he supports this. It is a really easy thing to say, "We support this." "I support this."

Mr Stanhope: I just said that.

MR SMYTH: Mr Quinlan, thank you. That is twice today, Ted, that you have praised the government, so thank you for that.

Mr Quinlan: I haven't praised the government at all.

MR SMYTH: Mr Deputy Speaker, there are enormous advantages for Canberra in the Impulse development.

Mr Stanhope: We all hope that Impulse succeeds.

MR SMYTH: Mr Deputy Speaker, again we hear from one side of Mr Stanhope. He says, "We all hope that they succeed, but we are all worried." The Hanrahan of the Assembly.

Mr Stanhope: I am not a bit worried. You are the ones that should be worried that it doesn't succeed.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!

MR SMYTH: "We'll all be rooned," said Hanrahan, "if this here rain don't stop." No matter what happens, the Hanrahan of the Assembly will have us all ruined. There is no support here. It is a shame that Mr Quinlan is not leading the Labor Party because at least he is decisive in what he says.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the advantages for Canberra from the Impulse development are many and varied, and they are not just for Canberra. There is impact nationally, and we are already seeing that through the drop in the air prices.

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