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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 4316 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

and forced him to withdraw the original motion and put this more considered motion, which really is a motherhood statement.

I think we all know that most of it is going to happen anyway and that the management of the airport, in the way that they have shown that they are good corporate citizens, have actually gone about improving Canberra. I am not sure whether people are aware that recently a number of advanced trees were stolen from around the RAAF monument at the intersection of Majura Road and the Federal Highway. The monument is being progressively upgraded by the RAAF association, to its credit. Some low-life came along and flogged the trees and the management of the airport replaced those trees at the airport's expense. People do not hear about small things like that that are to the credit of the airport. They only hear about the big things, the $100 million worth of investment.

Mr Hargreaves, in his original motion, said that revenue is being denied to the ACT budget by the undermining of land sales, but there are so many other forms of revenue that come in from having successful business parks like the one at the airport. You have to take it all on balance, instead of presenting a view which is distorted. I still hope that the Chief Minister will come in and say that Mr Hargreaves got it wrong. I live in hope that the Chief Minister will come in and again congratulate the airport on its outstanding success, particularly outstanding being the development of the Brindabella Business Park, but I do not think that we will see him again.

The important thing is that this is something that will complement the town centres and will complement the development of Canberra as a whole. To lose it, to nobble it, to destroy it, to deny it the oxygen it needs to grow is to deny the whole city a future, because cities with a future control their airports and the airports round the world that are successful are diversifying so that they can define the peaks and troughs of the aviation industry.

Well done to the Canberra International Airport on what they have done. It is pleasing that, whoever forced Mr Hargreaves to remove his original motion, was able to do so. This motion is nothing but a motherhood statement.

MR HARGREAVES (8.51), in reply: For the record, the original motion was withdrawn because I felt that this motion said more than the other one. The other one was a little bit specific and I do not resile from what I said in it. In fact, I have said almost the same thing in support of this motion as I was going to say on the other one.

Mr Speaker, I would like to address a few remarks to the newly crowned Leader of the Opposition and the shadow Deputy Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Minister for Planning, Mrs Jelly, because I really think that they have a fixation about this matter, Mr Speaker.

Mr Smyth: Sorry, Mrs who? Mr Speaker, was that parliamentary language?

MR HARGREAVES: Do you want me to withdraw that?

Mr Smyth: If you are feeling guilty about it, perhaps you should.

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