Page 3785 - Week 12 - Thursday, 22 November 2007
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Greens website and that the Greens should be standing behind. If they believe them they should have no concern with them being in the public arena. But it seems that when they get called on their policies, on their extreme policies, they do not like it. We saw Ms Tucker eventually admit that the Greens want to support not only the decriminalisation of personal cannabis use but also the decriminalisation of heroin use, of cocaine use and the use of amphetamines.
I think the reason they have reacted as violently as they have to this revelation is that they know that there will be thousands of Canberrans who would be very concerned about these policies. There are thousands of Canberrans who would be very concerned about the Greens having the balance of power in the federal Senate and espousing these kind of policies, pushing these kind of policies. And we know that the Labor Party are expecting to form a virtual coalition with the Greens if they are to come into power. We have Lindsay Tanner on the record saying:
We might have the Greens with the balance of power … and in order to form government Labor might have to do some of the mad things they want.
What are some of the mad things that Labor are going to be doing in order to get the support of the Greens? Are they going to support the decriminalisation of heroin? Are they going to support the decriminalisation of cocaine? Are they going to support the decriminalisation of amphetamines? Are they going to support higher taxes on capital gains? Are they going to support death taxes? The Australian Greens will reintroduce inheritance tax, even applying to some family homes. Are they going to support the abolition of the 30 per cent private health insurance rebate? We know that Kevin Rudd has changed his tune on that; he did describe it in pretty harsh terms not long ago, but he has come around. But of course if he is pushed by the Greens this might be one of the mad policies they adopt.
The Greens have also advocated a company tax rise. Since we have seen a reduction in the company tax rate, coincidentally we have also seen a massive increase in revenue generated by companies. So there may be something in the economic theory that if you get the tax rates right—rather than pushing them up all the time, as the Greens, in particular, would advocate—you get more revenue coming in because of the extra activity that is generated.
So I think there will be thousands of Canberrans who would be concerned about the Greens having the balance of power. There will be thousands of Canberrans who will be very concerned about Kerrie Tucker representing the ACT and taking forward some of the policies that have been highlighted in recent days that the Greens would prefer were not talked about. They would prefer we did not talk about their drugs policy. They would prefer we did not talk about their taxation policy. But Canberrans, when they go to the ballot box on Saturday and consider voting for Kerrie Tucker, should remember that the Greens have extremist policies and that their alliance with Labor has significant dangers. (Time expired.)
White Ribbon Day
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (6.15): There is another event occurring this weekend after the federal election and that is White Ribbon Day. In 1999 the United
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