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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Wednesday, 11 February 2004) . . Page.. 249 ..

Canberra residents, to New South Wales residents and to their own homes. The opposition has been quick to stir up residents in Tuggeranong about the Hume site and we have seen a federal MP, Garry Nairn, try to score a few political points on behalf of Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra residents, but none of this political game playing will actually result in a quality facility for the ACT.

I think it is important that we send a message to the Commonwealth that we are unhappy with their land management, but it is just as important to get on with the job of designing, building and running a prison focused on rehabilitation. That is what the people of Canberra are waiting for.

Amendment agreed to.

MR HARGREAVES (5.59), in reply: When I was advising the chamber of the letter of 19 January 2004 from Mr Anderson, the minister for transport, I neglected to advise the chamber of another passage in there which gave me much concern. I am sure that the leader of the Democrats will be interested in this little fellow. It reads:

I have written to the Prime Minister, Minister for Finance and Administration and Minister for Defence advising my view that should Canberra Airport not wish to acquire all the identified surplus land…

He goes on to say that he wants to make sure about the right use of it. The Canberra airport gets first bite of the cherry, full stop. The Leader of the Opposition was going on about that being the right and correct role of the minister for transport. I can understand him wanting to have a say on the airport, but not about corrections.

Mr Smyth says that we have not done any work on corrections in the last couple of years. For Mr Smyth’s knowledge—he ought to know; if he does not know, he ought to be ashamed of himself—work has been going on with developing the programs to go into that prison. In opposition, we criticised the Liberal government because they were going to get a site, build a prison and whack the programs into it. While we have been negotiating on land, we have been working on developing the programs. But it is the federal government that has held it all up.

Mr Smyth said that we wanted to build this prison at the end of the east-west runway. Mr Smyth has to be reminded that Duntroon is at the end of the east-west runway at one end and there is a monstrous Air Force base at the other. Mr Speaker, we are talking about a block of land which is past the Air Force base and past the golf club. But Mr Smyth, again, wants to be sneaky, tricky and mean about this sort of stuff and he wants everybody to believe something which is patently untrue.

The federal minister for transport has used his weight with the Prime Minister and other ministers to protect the long-term interests of the Canberra airport group. Why is that group opposed to a prison? Perhaps it does not suit their financial interests, Mr Speaker. Why is Mr Snow building a privately owned town centre? Perhaps it is in his financial interests. Maybe he is going to call it “Snowtown”. Why is the federal minister for transport helping a significant contributor to the Liberal Party? To guarantee a second runway, perhaps. Perhaps the airport have plans to put in a second runway, but plans for

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