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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 10 Hansard (Wednesday, 25 August 2004) . . Page.. 4191 ..

cheapest and I have not heard from anyone who does not like it. Yes, some money was spent, but you can see where the money went. You cannot see where the money went under this government.

Look at our five-year road plan. We set out a five-year road plan that was strategic, long term, funded, achievable and it was met. Why? Because we knew that as we came into surplus you must spend your surplus on infrastructure. What this government has done is put the surplus back into the recurrent. As the Canberra Times editorial said, they have been “budgets of lost opportunity” because there is no strategic view under this government.

But let us go back to the assertion that things like Fujitsu was a failure. Was Fujitsu a failure? At the time when the then Chief Minister said we were going to make Canberra the ICT capital in this country, those opposite laughed and talked it down and said you cannot do it. The St George Bank trends document—don’t believe me; this is what was said by an independent body—said that “Canberra is now the ICT capital of Australia”. Canberra has double the national average of people involved in ICT. How did we do this? We did it by getting firms like Fujitsu to come to town, which created the impetus, which gave people the confidence and which saw people invest. And what we do not have now is that confidence. We have now had two quarters of negative confidence in this government, and that is the problem.

Let us look at the circumstances when we came to office in 1995 and when they came to office in 2001. In 1995 the housing market was depressed and housing prices were falling; unemployment was soaring; the government had a $344 million operating loss; and there was poor growth and very little opportunity. (Extension of time granted.) What did we leave them? We left them an economy that was the envy of the country; we left them an economy that had enormous private sector growth; we left them an economy that had at that stage the lowest unemployment, and thankfully it has continued to trend down; we left them with huge surpluses and cash reserves—things we did not have—and they have simply squandered that opportunity.

Let me go back to the environment. What did we achieve in that area? No waste by 2010—up and running; greenhouse gas targets and strategy—up and running; firewood strategy—up and running; 24 action plans for endangered species and ecosystems—up and running and in some cases being reviewed in compliance with the act; water legislation—in place and running; grasslands at Gungahlin saved by moving a town centre; Jerrabomberra town centre not to be built in the ACT to protect the environment; and we had started the removal of the willows in our creeks as woody weeds.

What has Labor done? What are the achievements of Labor? What have they carried out under their own steam? What have they started? What are their original achievements in the environment area? Name one—one.

Mrs Dunne: Solar hot water rebate.

MR SMYTH: The solar hot water rebate—okay, we have got one from Mrs Dunne. She remembered. We have got one. And that is the problem—there is no strategic direction, there is no drive, there is no initiative, under the government.

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