Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 05 Hansard (Friday, 14 May 2004) . . Page.. 1978 ..

Mr Quinlan: Where are you going to put it?

MR STEFANIAK: I will come to that, Minister. As a result of the promises you made, dragway supporters expected your government to build this facility when you became the government. Were they category three promises? They were not core promises—they were low category promises.

Mrs Dunne: The ones with your fingers crossed behind your back.

MR STEFANIAK: The ones with your fingers crossed—exactly. Nothing happened, and the dragway supporters were rightly annoyed. Last year it looked almost certain that they had no real show—you might help them get a block of land but there was absolutely no money. This was at a time when you had been pretty well flushed with funds as a result of the excellent state we left the territory in when we left government.

Lo and behold, in the budget you say that in the 2004-2005 out years and the 2005-2006 out years there will be $4 million for the dragway—exactly what we said we would do in the policy that we announced in October 2002. And you have got a completion date, too, of 2006. But you have got the proviso, “Well, it’s dependent on a site.”

You have even said since then that not only is it dependent on a site but “Well, look, we might even have to go outside the ACT”. It would be interesting to know whether a good site could be found outside the ACT that is reasonably close enough to Canberra to make the undertaking worthwhile. Also, there could be problems if the laws governing such a site were changed. You do not have the same control over a site in New South Wales.

As you well know, the leases of a number of blocks along Majura Road expire in December 2005. I would imagine it would not be beyond the wit of even this government to try to talk to people about either resuming leases or letting them run out. You obviously have to pay just compensation and all that. That is understood. But take some steps to acquire blocks of land, especially when you have a number of studies, including the 1996 study which started in 1994 under minister Lamont, and, of course, our study of 2001.

MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: The member’s time has expired.

MRS DUNNE (4.15): The Leader of the Opposition today described the budget as one where you failed to put hay in the barn in good years. I was thinking about it the other day and to me this is like the fable of the grasshopper who chirruped away all through the good times and then when the winter came along he had not stored away anything for the hard times. And this is what this budget is about. It is about spending your patrimony. It is about spending, spending, spending, spending, spending and getting nothing to show for it.

A little earlier the minister said, “Hey, what about me? You’re not talking about me.” So I will just talk about you for a little while, Mr Treasurer. The Treasurer said, childishly punching his hand with excitement, “Look, how clever am I? It’s about economic growth. Don’t you love it? Don’t you love economic growth?” He talked about record unemployment and growth and things like that. I put it to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, who

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .