Page 4261 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 16 November 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR SPEAKER: Direct your comments through the chair.
MRS BURKE: I am, through you, sir; I am indeed. Mr Hargreaves has another helper, apart from the Chief Minister who likes to talk on public housing. He now has Mr Gentleman. Maybe Mr Gentleman can impact the thoughts of Mr Hargreaves and direct his energy and efforts to public housing. Leadership is the thing. You cannot expect government officials to be plugging away and slogging away if you are not backing them and supporting them and showing some leadership, too.
We have also seen here—and I am sick and tired of hearing it; it is a silly debate now, when we talk about security of tenure—Mr Hargraves saying, “The Liberals like to boot people out.” Where is the evidence? Where is the proof that I have ever said we will boot people out? That is absolute nonsense. You continue to live in the past. You need to get with the program, Mr Housing Minister. If you do not, we are going to have a big problem in the ACT. That was not foreshadowed by me; that was foreshadowed at a Shelter meeting, as I have said earlier.
I am flagging with you here that I thought my speech was lateral thinking; it was forward looking; it was visionary. You did not do anything other than tell me what you have done. We already know that; it is history; it is not news; it is not news at all.
Most reasonable Canberrans would expect their taxes to be used to provide a roof over people’s heads when they find themselves in a vulnerable situation—we all agree—and for as long as that situation dictates. If Mr Hargreaves can prove to me that I or any of my colleagues have ever said we would, to quote Mr Hargraves, “Boot people out,” then I challenge him to table that now. I challenge him to show me where I said, “I will throw people out on the street.”
It is an absolute disgrace and highly disingenuous of you, Mr Hargreaves, to continue to make falsehood statements in regard to security of tenure. You, in fact, have changed the security of tenure. You are talking now more in line with Liberal sentiment. You now have to bring yourself into line with New South Wales housing policy and, possibly as you have cited today, WA.
I know you are looking around the country. I can see what you are doing. You are looking at what the other states and territories are doing. So am I. But I have the courage and the guts to stand up on behalf of Canberra taxpayers and say to you, “Put this portfolio right.” You said today, and paraded in front of us, that we have an asset base worth, what, $2.9 or $3 billion. I say to you that it is still a poor show when we now, four years down the track, have dragged our heels in terms of rejuvenation of public housing stock. We have seen little to no money being afforded to do any more works anywhere. Unless you have got something up your sleeve which is going to be either a nice budget announcement or an election sweetener, or we see that you are going to be the one to have to stand up here and say, “We are going to raise taxes,” I am going to be waiting with bated breath.
It is disappointing to all those people languishing on the public housing lists that Mr Hargreaves cannot give them any strong hope for the future. He cannot say to them, “This is the plan. We have a plan.” All he can say is: “We are going to have another
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .