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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (21 June) . . Page.. 2373 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

They include the passing of the Environmental Protection Act, the launch of Healthy Cities, the ACT becoming a member of the Murray Darling Basin Commission, the completion of action plans for all listed threatened species and ecological communities, the implementation of the Water Resources Act, the introduction of the ACT nature conservation strategy, the commencement by Actew Corporation of the ACT's first commercial hydro-electric power generation, the sponsorship of the ACT Capital Region Earth Charter Consultation Forum, the introduction in new ACT rural policy of 99-year leases and land management agreements, the finalisation of the ACT Greenhouse Strategy, and the tabling of the Earth Charter in the Assembly.

So much for a party that is bereft of ideas and activity. If you had listened to Ms Tucker you would think we had ruined the environment. The Commissioner does actually say in other sections of his report that there is more that we need to do. We know that there is more that we need to do and, as we build up the budget surpluses, we can continue with the good work that we have commenced.

Ms Tucker then attacks the school student transport scheme. She denies that there is any environmental impact. Nineteen CNG buses have a significant impact. They will help with meeting the targets for giving Canberrans with a disability access to our buses. They will ease traffic congestion and, of course, they will put money back into the pockets of Canberra families.

The other interesting part of the buses debate is, of course, that those opposing it forget that, across the border, their New South colleagues rule such a system. The irony of it is, if you are a student in New South Wales, you can actually get a free bus into the ACT courtesy of the New South Wales Labor government. In the ACT, you would be denied such a bus by an ACT Labor government.

We then get to Mr Berry. I am happy to hear it all again. Keep going Wayne. I think this is lovely.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Do you require an extension of time, Minister? I can give you a second 10 minutes if you wish.

MR SMYTH: I thought government ministers had unlimited time to respond to these issues, given the breadth of material we have to address as the result of the time spent by many others.

MR SPEAKER: You are the minister in charge, you are quite right.

MR SMYTH: We get to Mr Berry. Here we are. Attack the independents. Tell the people of Canberra that we have taken their vote for granted. Wayne already knows that Labor are going to occupy the Treasury benches after the next election. I guess he knew that in 1995 and 1998 as well. But the message there is that the left of the Labor Party in the ACT is still in control, that they are still ignoring what the public told them at the last two elections, and that they take the votes of all Canberrans for granted.

What Mr Berry also forget to tell anybody in any of his speeches is that we have put $91.5 million over the next four years into the budget for education. What he forget to tell everyone, as he did yesterday, and as does as he goes around, is that I think it is the education union that described our policy on reducing class sizes, which they have now

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