Page 599 - Week 03 - Thursday, 15 March 2007
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they have no confidence in the commissioner and, tellingly, they have no confidence in this minister.
It is entirely appropriate that this side of the house brings this motion. I am delighted that Dr Foskey is actually now going to get a briefing. Better late than never, Dr Foskey! It is nice that you are starting to show an interest. It is a little bit late. Talk about catch-up there. Maybe the Greens could take a bit of responsibility for a few other things as well—like fuel loads in forests. Maybe it is about time that you started listening as well. You are big on consultation. We will see what Dr Foskey does with this motion, though it does not appear that she is going to support it.
The opposition certainly have a duty to move this motion. We would be failing in our duty were we not to keep this government accountable, and we will keep this government accountable. This government has now been in for six years or more; it is in its second term. It was probably always a reasonably arrogant government; it has now become the most arrogant government since self-government. It does not listen. It does not take people into its confidence. It ignores perfectly reasonable, sensible suggestions and ideas of ordinary men and women in this city. In this case, it is ignoring the very sensible suggestions and the expertise of many ordinary men and women of our city. I should not say ordinary men and women; I call them extraordinary men and women. They are volunteers; they put their lives on the line to defend this community in times of crisis. They are extraordinary people.
Those people are not being listened to by this government. Very few of those people out there today had confidence in the reforms, the commissioner or the minister. That is absolutely telling. You need to listen to them and you need to take into account what they are doing.
I do not know if it is too late. Obviously, this motion will be carried on the numbers. Of course, Mr Corbell will survive. But if Mr Corbell and the government—if Mr Corbell and you opposite—want to even remotely gain the respect of any of these people, you will not go through sham consultations and you will not put your head in the sand, keep it in the sand and refuse to talk to these people; you will listen to them.
I do not know if you are capable of doing that. I do not know if you are just so pigheaded that you are going to try to ride this out because you have got the numbers. But it is about time you started listening to people. It is about time you listened to people on the ground rather than listening to people in an ivory tower, keeping your heads in the clouds and refusing to accept what is happening down there on the ground and acting accordingly. That is your duty. You are failing in that duty. This minister has failed in his duty. (Time expired.)
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Minister for the Arts) (11.22): Mr Speaker, here we have it—another day, another no-confidence motion. It is about all those opposite have got, isn’t it? Another day, another no-confidence motion. We have one a week—one a week! Another day, another no-confidence motion.
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