Page 643 - Week 02 - Thursday, 6 March 2008
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leader did not think to mention young families. So you scurry in here today and try and cover up your embarrassment and pretend that you care about young people. Your record in government, let alone your record yesterday, shows the extent to which you have abandoned not just younger people but indeed the community.
We are proud of our record. We are proud of the extent to which we have focused on things like education. We have undertaken a massive investment in and complete reorganisation of education, and my colleague the minister for education will go into that in this debate. We have a proud and enviable record which we stand by and which we are happy to put to this community. You should be embarrassed.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.25): Once again we have seen the height of hypocrisy from the Chief Minister and really another extremely embarrassing event. It follows on from his own goal yesterday where he sought to claim the high moral ground on commitment to young families. The Chief Minister took credit on the one hand for the employment growth that has occurred through the expansion of the commonwealth government but blamed the commonwealth for the resultant inflation and, of course, the interest rates that have flowed from that. But nowhere in his performance, Madam Assistant Speaker, did he refer to the hardship that he and his government have caused to young families in the ACT through their policies.
Jon Stanhope sits there, fat on his commonwealth public service pension and tells us that we do not care about young families. As he eyes retirement he tells me that I do not care about or understand the needs of young families.
Mr Stanhope: The old silver spoon merchants from the conservatives.
MR SESELJA: We can compare silver spoons. The man on his commonwealth public service pension on top of his Chief Minister’s salary, eyeing retirement, tells me that we do not care about young families.
Mr Stanhope: I would not mind betting I am here longer than you.
MR SESELJA: We will now get into what his government has done for the families of Canberra.
Mr Stanhope: Cannot afford to join the Canberra Business Club.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): Order, Mr Stanhope! You have had your turn. You were heard in silence. Be quiet.
Mr Stanhope: Was I?
MR SESELJA: You were. Thank you, Madam Assistant Speaker. We have seen their attitude to policies that affect young families in the ACT. Some of these policies were deliberate. When we look particularly at housing affordability, there was a deliberate policy by this government to slow down land supply. That is what forced the prices up. It was a deliberate policy to force up prices. The Chief Minister scurries away in
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