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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 9 Hansard (6 September) . . Page.. 2928 ..
MS CARNELL (continuing):
The NSW Government agrees it should go ahead. Bob Carr has offered an incentive package.
Right, Mr Speaker, absolutely right, because they were part of the process. But what have those opposite done? What has Mr Stanhope done? He has put out silly press releases getting stuck into the federal Liberal government when it is the Labor Party federally that wants to slow this project down. They want to do a probity check on a project that had a full probity ordered as part of it which the New South Wales government know about, Mr Speaker, because they were part of the three-way group. The independent probity ordered was conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.
Mr Stanhope: When they saw the Macquarie Bank submission the old antenna went up.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope! You have been warned already.
MS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, he has already been warned. An independent probity order has already been conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu in 1998, something that the New South Wales government know all about. Everybody has been quite open that it existed, Mr Speaker. The VHST assessment team, as I said, comprised officers of the New South Wales government, the ACT government and the Commonwealth government. The probity order indicated that the approach had been conducted fairly and equitably with due regard to probity, so what are Mr Ferguson and the Labor Party doing here, Mr Speaker?
They are slowing down a project that Mr Stanhope, only two weeks ago, wanted to play politics with. It just shows how serious that was. Mr Stanhope is not out there today with media releases getting stuck into Martin Ferguson. That is what he should be doing. If I were Mr Stanhope and those opposite I would be just so embarrassed that my federal colleagues had managed to slow up a project. I will finish, Mr Speaker, with a quote from Mr Stanhope's own media release:
The fast train is highly important to Canberra's future, particularly if the route is going on to continue to Melbourne...A Speedrail presence can only enhance that broadening of our economic base. It would be a great boost to the local economy and another reinforcement of Canberra as the heart of the nation.
Those are Mr Stanhope's words, Mr Speaker, but where is the press release and where is the pressure on the federal Labor Party to stop this nonsense?
I ask that all further questions be placed on the notice paper.
MR STEFANIAK: In relation to Mr Hargreaves' question, I mentioned the date, 28 August. That was when the contract with ACTION was signed, Mr Hargreaves. I understand that Keir's contract has not been signed yet.
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