Page 3046 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 23 August 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
There are things in this town called “critical infrastructure”. They are, in our belief, “low risk”, as opposed to “absence of risk” terrorist targets.
The coordination centre and the communications centre are sensitive. There is no security discreteness between those activities and the childcare centre. There is a small brick wall and a bit of glass. It is totally inappropriate for children to be accommodated in a childcare centre so close to an operational area. Even the Department of Defence recognised this when it created its childcare centre in the department, and located it significantly away from the operational parts of that department.
It is unfortunate that some people are trying to exploit this situation and make up emotive arguments, saying that this horrible, bad government is trying to kick out 100 kids. That is ludicrous. But there are some facts: one is that this is not a government-run childcare centre; it is a commercial, for-profit, arrangement. It is operated in territory premises. The territory has a desire to acquire and resume its own premises for its own purposes. These people opposite try to exploit it. I fully expect them to try to do so. They will be exposed in the fullness of time.
It is inappropriate to have these kids located here. The government has tried to work with the proprietor to determine other premises. But this proprietor is not prepared to do that. The offer has been for a six-month licence to continue while these things are worked through. It is not the government that has rejected that offer.
DR FOSKEY: Mr Speaker, I have a supplementary question. Given the desperate shortage of childcare places in this town, can you assure the parents, who are unlikely to be able to find alternatives in the short-term, that there will be no disruption to the provision of this service?
MR HARGREAVES: There seems to be an expectation that the government has to provide premises for a commercial operation. Nobody wants to see a shortage of childcare places in this town. To suggest this is insulting and stupid. It is not up to the government to wander around this town trying to find appropriate premises for people to make a profit. We are talking about an emergency services authority’s headquarters, and its communications and emergency coordination centre.
If the same process had occurred but we were talking about privately rented premises, there would be no offer of a six-month extension; it would be “seeya later” on Friday, with absolutely no compassion, no nothing. My conversations with the proprietor were that we were not about to be tossing people out on to the street. But I have to tell Dr Foskey, I, in my capacity as Minister for Urban Services, am more concerned about the security and integrity of the emergency coordination centre and a communications centre than I am about the profit of a commercial enterprise. If this proprietor wants to seek assistance to find alternative premises, I am very happy to help out as much as I can. But, at the end of the day, this is a commercial enterprise; it is a for-profit enterprise.
I have queues of people in the non-government sector wanting to have access to surplus territory-owned space. Quite a number of people in the non-government sector concerned with supporting the disadvantaged in this community and supporting refugees are looking for space. A commercial enterprise is operating from this centre. Sorry about
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .