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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Wednesday, 25 August 2004) . . Page.. 4178 ..

not join the Liberal Party. They do not join the opposition in whinging, carping and negativity. They just do not. They do not do it.

Those opposite whinge, carp, moan, complain and talk down—that is what they do. That is all this opposition has done. All those opposite have done for three years is whinge, whinge, whinge. I have yet to see anything constructive come from them.

Look at what the people of Canberra think. In 2002, 88 per cent of Canberrans reported their health status as good to excellent—higher than the national average. Fifty per cent of Canberrans were delighted with their lives, compared with 40 per cent nationally. We have the lowest levels of psychological stress in Australia. We have the highest adult participation rate in physical activity in Australia. Children’s participation in organised sport is the second highest in Australia after the Northern Territory. We have the highest life expectancy in Australia. We have the lowest rate of suicide and the lowest infant death rate in Australia.

Mrs Dunne: That was 2002.

MR STANHOPE: When we were in government and continuing. We have the strongest indicators across the board in relation to almost every indicator you care to name. This is a community that is extremely satisfied. It is satisfied with the government. All of the indicators of satisfaction in relation to all of the aspects of community life are as strong or stronger than anywhere else in Australia. They have grown in strength under this government.

It indicates the nonsense, the hypocrisy and the failure to look back, acknowledge and own the appalling maladministration that was a feature of the Liberal government and which we inherited three years ago.

I made the point in question time today that it is the height of hypocrisy to ask questions of this government about issues such as housing. This is a leader of the opposition that, as minister, sold 700 separate public houses. Earlier I heard the Shadow Minister for Housing railing and whinging about a waiting list in relation to housing. This is the party, when in government, that sold 700 public housing units. There were 700 houses sold by the Liberal Party in government. And they come in here and complain about waiting lists.

Let us talk about aged care beds. One of the great weaknesses in the reporting that I have seen in the local paper in relation to the latest crisis—the crisis in aged care places—is: what did this opposition achieve in government? Let us have a little guessing competition; a little trivia moment. How many beds were delivered by the Liberal Party in the last term of government? Twenty one—I repeat: 21—beds were delivered in a four-year term. That is what the Liberal Party delivered.

I expect to see that on the front page of tomorrow’s Canberra Times: 21 beds delivered by this mob in a whole term. Look at the railing, the ranting and the raving that we have seen on this issue over the last few months.

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