Page 884 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 2 May 2007

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And what about the last budget? Yes, there were community submissions made. But they were obviously completely ignored, because virtually every section of the community had a problem with that budget. And what did we see when it came to Assembly committees? The government put three of its members and only two non-government members on that particular committee, ensuring that it got the chair, overturning—not decades, because we have only been going since 1989, but overturning—the established conventions of this Assembly. That really showed the government’s contempt for the workings of the Assembly and the Assembly committees and again it made a mockery of what it was going to do in relation to the budget.

If you look at virtually any page in this document, the government has gone against its own noble words. If there has ever been a government in this place that has become totally unaccountable, does not have regard for the conventions that we have built up with some effort over the close to 20 years this place has been going, has breached all the fundamental principles that it set out in its own code of good government and continues to breach them, it is this government—and it should be ashamed of itself.

Yes, Chief Minister, I think you probably can take a leaf out of the previous Liberal government’s book. It was not perfect. It is interesting that you make some veiled praise of it in this document, saying that it kept Canberra ticking over and that it was not all bad. Of course your government is not all bad. But your government has failed to live up to the principles in this document. Your government has not been accountable. Your government has been the least approachable government since self-government. Your government has become arrogant. And your government is failing to deliver on these very fine principles that you set out not all that long ago.

All our motion does is call on you to provide the people of the ACT with an assurance that spending can be detailed and measured to provide a tangible benefit and to provide a guarantee that ensuring good governance is a priority for the government. Surely you should have no trouble in reiterating those very, very basic and not too difficult aims which we are asking you simply to reaffirm here today. Obviously you are not going to do that, and that in itself shows a certain kind of arrogance and disdain and indicates just how far you have strayed from the words you issued and uttered in 2001.

Question put:

That Mr Stanhope’s amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted–

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

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