Page 3460 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Mr Hargreaves: We are not laughing at you. We are just ticking it up.
MR PRATT: You do not give a stuff about the community. We know that.
Ms Gallagher: We are not laughing.
MR PRATT: No, that is okay. The opposition knows that you do not give a toss about the community. We take this matter very seriously.
During annual reports hearings, Mr Hargreaves, the Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, the minister responsible, was quick to make light of the fact that many of the letters received by his office were from people living outside the inner south. It is very shallow and shortsighted of the minister to assume that the only people affected by the closure of the Griffith library live within cooee of the building.
Griffith library draws users from all over the inner south of Canberra and beyond because of its ease of access for children attending schools in the area, including three colleges, three high schools and six primary schools, as well as elderly and disabled residents of the inner south and other suburbs. The Civic and Woden libraries will not provide an adequate substitute for these library users who will undoubtedly be deterred from library use in the future by the horrific parking situation and time-consuming journeys experienced in accessing both of these centres, particularly under this regime, which is choking the living bejesus out of parking in other centres—
Mr Hargreaves: I raise a point of order, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. I ask Mr Pratt to withdraw the word that he just used. That is offensive. I think it is in the list.
MR PRATT: Which word is that?
Mr Hargreaves: The living—
MR PRATT: I beg your pardon?
Mr Hargreaves: I will quote Mr Pratt, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. He said “the living bejesus”. I think he should withdraw that word.
MR PRATT: Well, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, if you so judge, I will withdraw. Let us not waste our time here.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER (Mr Gentleman): Continue, Mr Pratt.
MR PRATT: Thank you very much. A public library service is essential for the wellbeing of any community and it must be relatively accessible to everyone. This is yet another example of the Stanhope government’s slash and burn policy. The Canberra community is infuriated by this government’s shortsighted, money hungry policies that disadvantage those that can least afford it. We have talked about hospital pay parking, school closures, the closure of the ACT Shopfront and the failure to do
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