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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 3 Hansard (5 March) . . Page.. 549 ..

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, let us understand what this issue is all about. The previous government-and Mrs Cross, of course, is a president of the Phillip Traders Association along with being a Liberal Party candidate-

Mrs Cross: Mr Speaker, I take a point of order. Could I correct the minister-I am not the president of the Phillip Traders.

MR SPEAKER: There is no point of order. You either have a point of order or you do not. Mr Stefaniak, would you like to have a go?

Mr Stefaniak: Yes, Mr Speaker. Mrs Cross is not the president of the Phillip Traders Association at present, and I ask that the minister withdraw what he said.

MR SPEAKER: Sit down, Mr Stefaniak. That is not a point of order.

Mr Hargreaves: Mr Speaker, I just wish to congratulate you on your ruling and remind members of standing order 46. I think that would have been more appropriate if Mrs Cross had had a problem.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you for your help. Mr Corbell, would you like to resume your answer.

MR CORBELL: Mr Speaker, I apologise to Mrs Cross if she is no longer president of Phillip Traders. She was the president of Phillip Traders. In the lead-up to the last election she was the president of the Phillip Traders. When she was an endorsed Liberal candidate she was the president of the Phillip Traders. When the previous government was offering land to the Southern Cross Club she was involved with the Phillip Traders.

At no stage did she raise with the Phillip Traders the issue of the significance of this decision and now she has the gall to run around the Canberra community having a go at this government for trying to fix the mess that they left us. It is an unacceptable and hypocritical approach by Mrs Cross and the Liberal Party.

What the Labor government is doing in relation to this matter is that we have said we will not be progressing the realignment of Callam Street until we have seriously worked through the issues that the Phillip Traders have raised-something which the previous government was unwilling or unable to do. We will be working with the Phillip Traders on the issue.

I have met with the Phillip Traders this year-in fact, just a couple of weeks ago. They raised a series of detailed concerns, which I believe warrant further investigation, as to the previous government's conduct in processing the matters surrounding the Callam Street realignment. We will be looking very closely at those issues before making a decision on whether or not to proceed with the realignment. That is the commitment the Labor government has with the Phillip Traders-a commitment sorely lacking from those opposite.

MS TUCKER: Mr Speaker, I ask a supplementary question. Minister, what I would like you to do is please provide a copy of the agreement.

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