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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5088 ..

MRS BURKE (continuing):

Mr Speaker, this government were left an excellent legacy: money. They were not left some huge whacking debt. The Liberals were pleased to have been such excellent economic managers, something this government cannot and should not crow about. It means that this government can get on with the job, the job of delivering core services. I can hardly see why we have the government on this ego-trip when it has done no more than deliver the services that it should have done-or not in some cases.

It is quite laughable and pathetic really and indeed embarrassing that we are actually spending valuable time and wasting taxpayers' money on nothing more than pre-election grandstanding. Could I ask Mr Hargreaves if he could give me an update on the community rooms for multi-unit housing complexes? Could he tell me whether Winnunga Nimmityjah have been provided with their mental health outreach workers, services that were promised pre-election? The government went to the election on that.

Ms Dundas talked about budget underspends. It goes back into consolidated revenue. Many promises were made-lovely commitments-but yet we have not seen this government deliver on all the promises; or it has taken so long to deliver, if at all.

Mental health has been talked about much in this place. I reiterate: I hope to see that that outreach worker position or two positions promised for Winnunga have been filled or are in the throes of being filled.

There is much rhetoric, much veneer and much band-aiding. The government might think it can fool some of the people some of the time, but, Mr Speaker, it will not fool most of the people most of the time.

Debate interrupted in accordance with standing order 74, and the resumption of the debate made an order of the day for a later hour.

Sitting suspended from 12.26 to 2.30 pm.

Questions without notice

Stamp duty

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, my question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, on 20 August you asserted in this place:

Any talk of stamp duty, at whatever level, affecting the cost of housing and housing affordability presumes that the cost of housing on the market today is cost driven. Well, that is simply not so. As I said, it is market driven, and anyone who believes that it is not is delusional.

Mr Treasurer, by contrast, your colleague and factional mate the new federal Labor leader, Mark Latham, has called on the states and territories to cut stamp duty to make housing more affordable. Now that your federal leader has seen the light, when will you carry out his request to cut stamp duty?

MR QUINLAN: Far be it for me to criticise my federal leader, but he seems to be on the populist bandwagon. I am sorry about that. I still hold to my opinion that housing prices

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