Page 559 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 5 March 2008

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development of residential releases and that under this government’s policies housing has become less and less affordable. We have seen thousands of Canberrans excluded from the market. This should not be happening. We do not have a land supply crisis. We do not have a shortage of land in the ACT. We have a land management crisis under this government. They have failed to get on with releases in the south. They have been too slow when they have released land in Gungahlin. And now the Chief Minister wants to blame everyone else for the housing stress and for the damage that young families are suffering. He wants to blame the Howard government for that, when it was his government that caused these issues. Now we have a double act: after all these burdens have been imposed, after the services have been cut, after housing has become less affordable, the Rudd government is going to cut their jobs. And what is the response of Stanhope Labor? They are either mute or they are cheerleaders for the very cuts that will then hurt those families who have already been affected by the policies of the ACT Labor Stanhope government.

This was an embarrassing argument that the Chief Minister made. It was a pathetic attempt to divert attention away from the fact that he does not have the courage to stand up to his federal colleagues. He was prepared to pick fights with the Liberal Party when they were in government federally but he is not prepared to take it to his federal Labor colleagues. We can only speculate about the reasons for that. We can only speculate about what kind of future career Jon Stanhope may have in mind which would make it disadvantageous for him to criticise his Labor colleagues. But there is no doubt that he has failed to do so, and his attempt to divert attention today was an embarrassment to him and his party.

Question put:

That the amendment (Mr Stanhope’s) be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 9		Noes 8
Mr Barr	Mr Hargreaves	Mrs Burke	Mr Seselja
Mr Berry	Ms MacDonald	Mrs Dunne	Mr Smyth
Mr Corbell	Ms Porter	Dr Foskey	Mr Stefaniak
Ms Gallagher	Mr Stanhope	Mr Mulcahy
Mr Gentleman		Mr Pratt

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

Health—asbestos related disease and injury

MS MacDONALD (Brindabella) (5:32): I move the motion standing in my name on the notice paper relating to asbestos related disease and injury:

That this Assembly:

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