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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 1 Hansard (12 December) . . Page.. 177 ..

MR STEFANIAK (4.53): My comments follow on from matters Mrs Dunne touched on in relation to the AIS. I remind new members what was said in debate on this matter in the Fourth Assembly. The AIS have very grave reservations about the western route. There is a very real risk that AIS might leave this territory if that route goes in as planned. I do not have the map here in front of me. That was a huge concern to the AIS. As a former sports minister, I can say that a lot of other places in Australia would like the AIS to come to them. It is a very significant employer in our community, and I think great care needs to be taken by this government with the route.

The western route goes very close to the Bruce CIT. Again, that is something that needs to be looked at very carefully. That is why, amongst other reasons, the opposition, when in government, favoured the eastern route. That has the least possible impact on all the affected persons.

It is obvious that the government has the numbers, but if the western route does go ahead inappropriately we run the very great risk of losing the Institute of Sport. Apart from that, I reiterate comments made by other speakers. The people of Gungahlin need this facility, and as quickly as possible.

MR STANHOPE (Chief Minister, Attorney-General, Minister for Health, Minister for Community Affairs and Minister for Women) (4.55): Of all the issues that were part and parcel of the election campaign, there was one which was stark and clear: the Labor Party's position in relation to Gungahlin Drive. We were unequivocal in our comments about it, particularly my colleague Mr Corbell. We said to the electorate, "If you elect a Labor government, we will proceed to construct a road along the western route." A Labor government was elected.

If there is one issue in relation to which the Labor Party can say they have a clear mandate, it is to do precisely what Mr Corbell has outlined we are going to do in relation to Gungahlin Drive. The mandate is unequivocal. We stood up and said, "A vote for Labor is a vote for the western route." We got a very clear signal from the electorate on this issue. I think this Assembly needs to accept the clarity of that mandate.

I thank Mrs Dunne for her very direct campaigning in Kaleen on this issue during the election campaign. Mrs Dunne letterboxed the entire suburb, including my home, with a leaflet directed personally at me: "Dear Resident of Kaleen, you should be aware that your neighbour, Jon Stanhope, doesn't care about you. He supports the western alignment." It went on and on about a whole range of things relating to my lack of care for my neighbours in Kaleen.

It would be of interest to members participating in this debate to know that I received 31 per cent of the vote in Kaleen, after having been subjected to a personal letterbox drop of all residents of Kaleen by Mrs Dunne. My personal vote in Kaleen was 31 per cent. I did not check the Kaleen booth, but I happened to be flicking through the numbers for the south Kaleen booth one day. Any prizes for guessing how many votes Mrs Dunne got? She got none-not a single vote from south Kaleen.

That is a reflection of a couple of things: the thanks I owe Mrs Dunne for the personal attack on me in the campaign, the lessons to be learned in relation to Hare-Clarke and personal campaigning, and what the residents of Kaleen think generally about this issue.

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