Page 3523 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 15 November 2006
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is fundamental to that. As we reflect on this most important of all issues, I know what the people of Australia and the world think: we are at greater risk from climate change than we are from terrorists.
These are the two major issues on which John Howard and his legacy will show he has utterly failed the people of Australia. He refused to engage with Kyoto and climate change until this week. He made a grievous mistake, which certainly the Americans have now realised in the invasion of Iraq. He is now seeking to engage with climate change. At the same time, of course, he is trying to determine how to disengage from Iraq. The two great issues occupying the mind of our Prime Minister at the moment are how to get out of Iraq and how to get into Kyoto.
Mr Mulcahy: Mr Speaker, I rise on a point of order. You have already reminded the Chief Minister to stick to the relevance. We are not having a debate on Iraq. I am happy to have that debate. But I do not think that this is what we are about.
MR SPEAKER: I think the Chief Minister has entangled the pair of these items—one is the climate change issue. I think you should come back to the subject matter.
MR STANHOPE: I will conclude on this remark: it is refreshing to observe that the shadow Treasurer—we need to get our nomenclature correct here; we have had to relearn the respective roles of all opposition members over the course of recent times, and certainly this week—at least is willing to engage in a debate over carbon trading and emissions trading. This is a debate that no member of the Liberal Party in the last 10 years has been prepared to even consider as a possibility, let alone express a determination or willingness to debate. It is the first time—apart from the Prime Minister’s utterances this week—that we have heard a member of the Liberal Party in Australia say that he or she would like to debate carbon trading.
I welcome Mr Mulcahy’s backflip on the issue. We now await the backflip of all other Liberals. It is a welcome sign that a member of the Liberal Party in the ACT has now broken ranks and said that he is prepared to debate carbon trading. That is a fantastic advance. We now have members of the Liberal Party saying, “Let’s discuss carbon trading. Let’s debate it seriously as an option for the future.” (Time expired.)
Ambulance service—vehicles
MRS BURKE: My question through you, Mr Speaker, is to the minister for emergency services, Mr Corbell. At any time over the course of this past year has the ACT had to borrow any ambulances from Victoria because the ACT vehicles had outlasted their life and were becoming unreliable? If so, how many?
MR CORBELL: It is public knowledge that, for a brief period of time, due to the delay in the arrival of new, replacement ambulances, a number of ambulances were borrowed from Victoria. That was due to a delay in the new, replacement ambulances arriving. There were three ambulances. It occurred prior to my time as minister, but it was at the beginning of this year. All those ambulances have since been returned to Victoria as new, replacement ambulances are now on deck.
MRS BURKE: I do not recall the minister mentioning how many were borrowed.
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