Page 3463 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 14 November 2006
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Mr Hargreaves: What about Weston?
MR PRATT: They like to be able to go in and browse. Do not talk about Weston. The fact that you might be concerned about Weston is no justification for denying a service to the people of Griffith. That is what you are doing, minister. Slowly but surely you are removing decentralised services. You are removing another frontline service. You are denying the people fundamental services.
If you want to save money in territory and municipal services, what about attacking waste in that department? What about attacking the bureaucracy and streamlining the waste? Frontline services, such as the ACT Shopfront and the TAMS Parks Brigade are threatened. The number of rangers in the Parks Brigade has been reduced. Now the Griffith library is to be closed. Why are these frontline services being cut at the expense of bureaucracy? It is because there are 2,500 additional public servants and this government has allowed bureaucratic waste to get beyond its control. It has been asleep at the wheel and now it cuts frontline services.
It is a disgrace. The residents of Griffith will now be denied their library because these people cannot govern. They waste. They cannot govern, and the people suffer. (Time expired.)
MR HARGREAVES (Brindabella—Minister for the Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Housing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (4.03): Firstly, before I go into the detail of this I would like to ask Mr Pratt if he would have the courage to list for this Assembly those areas of the Department of Territory and Municipal Services he says are bureaucratic waste. I do not believe he can. I do not believe he knows about it.
Mr Pratt: What about the $80,000 bike shed at Macarthur House?
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Mr Pratt!
MR HARGREAVES: He does not know a thing about it; it is just a very easy attack on a defenceless bureaucracy, and that is so typical. I will give you an example. Last weekend Mr Pratt attended a rally at Griffith. That is fine; I have no problems with that. However, what I do have a problem with is his going into the library afterwards. Mrs Burke also did so and she was quite okay; she spoke to the patrons in there in quite a civil fashion, and I have no difficulty with that at all. Mr Pratt, on the other hand, asked to speak to the OIC. He introduced himself to her and then said he would be really interested to know the details of how and why the decision to close Griffith library was made. He knows the protocol of members speaking to ministers: you do not speak to the public servants directly. Furthermore—
Mr Pratt: I raise a point of order, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker.
MR HARGREAVES: You cannot take it, can you?
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Resume your seat, minister. Mr Pratt has a point of order.
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