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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 9 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 3285 ..

MRS BURKE (continuing):

This government just saw it like a damp squid. It did not think outside the box, to try to change the time or negotiate with the jurisdictions involved. It is a sad thing that they could not pick that one up. Anyway, that has gone and we must move on. It had the potential, over time, to be economically viable and I saw their decision as premature.

As Mr Stefaniak has just said, many of our sporting facilities come at a cost-so does obesity, for that matter. When choosing, I think we need to look carefully at what sporting facilities we have-how sport gets people out and about, instead of sitting on their backsides watching TV. I am guilty of that as much as anybody else. We must think of opportunities to get people out of their homes and bring them together in the community.

On the matter of the dragway, it is a disappointment that the government-please excuse this pun-has stalled on the issue for so long. Why has it taken them so long, when they were rampantly promising it in 2001? The issue is that, as I recall, there was a strong commitment by the government when they were going to the election in 2001.

Mr Quinlan: No, there was not!

MRS BURKE: You led people up the garden path, Mr Quinlan.

Mr Quinlan: Mr Speaker, I wish to raise a point of order. "Led people up the garden path,"is that in our lexicon? The point here is that Mrs Burke is telling this house that we made a commitment, when we did not.

MR SPEAKER: I do not think that is a point of order.

MRS BURKE: The issue is that people in the community believed, at that time, that the then Labor opposition was going into an election making some loud noises that they were going to back them all the way and build a dragway.

Mr Quinlan: That is not true.

MRS BURKE: Then you are casting aspersions on the community, Mr Quinlan-be careful.

Mr Quinlan: It is not true.

MRS BURKE: You said you were going to do more than just look at the possibility of a dragway.

Mr Quinlan: You do not know what we said, do you?

MRS BURKE: I do know what was said. I am thinking about you, Mr Quinlan, as you sit there. It is interesting to listen to you and watch you-your body language is fascinating. I think you did betray the trust of people out there. I saw bumper stickers saying you were supporting it and that the dragway was going to be there. Why were people talking about it, if that was not the case? That is another issue we need to look at. Mr Stefaniak has already articulated well the government's position when they were in opposition, which is most interesting. It was like, now we do, and now we do not.

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