Page 2251 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 August 2007
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point of the questions that we asked the Chief Minister. We will continue to ask the Chief Minister when he will honour his commitment to broaden the economic base.
If you look at the list of achievements of the Stanhope Labor government, they have managed to close a library and shopfronts, and they have a busway going nowhere. Then there is FireLink—and we got the report today—a prison, the statue of Al Grassby and the GDE fiasco. There have been so many unfulfilled plans and so many squandered opportunities. And for the Chief Minister to have the gall to say that the economic sunlight that shines on the ACT is of his creating I think is a symbol of someone who is delusional.
We only have to go back to the Chief Minister’s maiden speech. It is a corker, Mr Speaker, an absolute beauty! It represents nine years of unfulfilled opportunities, nine years of missed opportunity. The Chief Minister made his maiden speech on 28 April 1998.
Mr Stanhope: Name one thing you did as a minister, Brendan, that the people of Canberra would remember.
MR SMYTH: The water legislation.
Mr Stanhope: Name one thing.
MR SMYTH: Secured the water legislation.
Mr Stanhope: You secured water. Ha, ha!
MR SMYTH: You want one?
Mr Stanhope: Brendan Smyth secured our water supply.
MR SMYTH: What did the Chief Minister say? Mr Speaker, you know that the Chief Minister is tetchy when he starts interjecting like this. He wants to go back. He has got to get a bit hairy-chested, a bit bolshie. He has to draw people to order. In a few minutes he will probably nick off and have a few more drinks with the media because he does not want to listen to this.
On page 27 of Hansard of 28 April 1998, Jon Stanhope said:
We believe that the priorities for achieving Canberra's economic security are … to diversify the economic base of the ACT through a partnership between industry and government involving strategic industry planning and targeted industry assistance—
This is what is going on. He attacks the property council and the Canberra Business Council. But that is how he sees a partnership. He says that business whinges. That is strategic industry thinking. We have all missed the point. The Chief Minister is endeavouring to look after industry. In his maiden speech the Chief Minister went on to say:
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