Page 31 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 7 December 2004
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Assembly. The most recent industry association appointment culminated in recognition of my work with an honorary appointment earlier this year as Adjunct Professor at the University of Queensland—an honour to which I attach great pride and importance.
My purpose in successfully seeking election to office is to make a worthwhile contribution to the improvement of the ACT for all of our citizens, and I am sure that is a sentiment I share with many, if not all, members of this Assembly. Our personal experience with the Canberra hospital system has, on occasions, left a great deal to be desired; and my personal frustration with the incapacity of our local public primary school to provide dedicated teachers for each of the classes for our children contributed to my decision to contest the most recent ACT election. That system, incidentally, is now canvassing the idea of having three classes of pupils assigned to one teacher.
With encouragement from party officials, I eventually took the decision to nominate. I must say I share the views expressed by the Chief Minister on 4 November, in that it is our families who provide the support to help us secure election, and it is they who pay the greatest price in many respects. I am especially grateful to my wife, Rose, and our children, James, who is here today in the gallery, Luke, Amy and Laura, and my parents, for their encouragement and support of my decision to stand for the ACT election.
In relation to the election, it has become clear to me that a significant number of electors who supported my efforts in the ACT election were established in their lives and circumstances and heading towards retirement or were already retired. Accordingly, Mr Speaker, I shall be continuing to pay special attention to their needs and I am particularly mindful of the concerns expressed by many of our older citizens. I have been urged to discourage this government from assuming that those who may be making paper gains through asset appreciation but are relying on limited income should be the easy targets of taxation measures, especially in relation to property or other taxes.
As the shadow Treasurer, I also intend to apply rigour to expenditures of government and the systems in place to ensure both transparency and accountability. I also hope that the government will honour the declaration made by the Chief Minister on 4 November when he acknowledged to the people of Canberra that to the majority he now enjoys also attaches both an honour and a responsibility.
I am passionate about the task ahead. I feel passionate about the rights of the individual and the importance of encouraging free enterprise in a city that has been dominated for so long by government decisions and government thinking. It is clear that successive Australian governments and the broader Australian community have an expectation that Canberrans will increasingly have to stand on their own feet. It may be unfair, given the share of national responsibilities we shoulder in the ACT, but the reality is that those pressures are unlikely to diminish and ACT governments of any persuasion will have to become increasingly skilled in dealing with these challenges.
Above all, however, it is imperative that we encourage a diverse private sector and an entrepreneurial spirit. Excess regulation, charges and taxes will not assist in that endeavour. Whilst development is important, service industries, and tourism in particular, also provide an excellent opportunity to expand our range of business services. Population growth will also be an essential ingredient in any such growth.
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