Page 2623 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 2 July 2008
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the project, the details of the project, the scope of the project and the likely impacts on the community, because that was their modus operandi. When they have been caught out by an incredible community reaction, the government has gone running to conceal the evidence of that. So it is a case of officials stuffing up, ministers stuffing up, ministers failing to exercise leadership and, on a $2,000 million project when the community was up in arms about this, not more closely looking at what their officials had done and perhaps then saying: “Oh, well, these procedures are only a guidance, so let’s exercise some leadership. Officials, let’s put everything on the table. If there have been some stuff-ups, we’ll admit that, but we’ll learn from these stuff-ups and then we will make better decisions.” But that has not been the case here.
The Stanhope government has blundered from whoa to go on this. It has tried to shovel beneath the radar a $2 billion project. It has upset the community. The community no longer have trust in it and therefore, through its failure of governance, it has now put at risk even a down-scaled project. The community are bruised. They are so bruised they can no longer trust this mob. Consequently, that is why the Chief Minister, with twitching face, white face, looking embarrassed and with furtive glances at his colleague Mr Barr in question time, is making sure that the evidence remains withheld—not because the government is corrupt but because it is ashamed and embarrassed of the failure of its governance in the handling of the gas-fired project.
MR SPEAKER: The time for this discussion has expired.
Mr Seselja: I seek leave to move a motion in relation to this matter.
Leave not granted.
Standing orders—suspension
MR SESELJA: I move:
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Mr Seselja from moving a motion in relation to the release of documents concerning the gas fired power station and data centre.
The reason we need to suspend standing orders in relation to this is that we have seen in the response of this government and the government representatives in this debate their total arrogance and contempt for the people of the ACT, particularly in this case for the people of Tuggeranong, in simply refusing to put all of the documents on the table. We have no choice but to seek to move this motion because the government continues to suppress the relevant documents.
We saw, unfortunately, the embarrassing performance from the Deputy Chief Minister when she got it wrong on so many occasions. She simply did not hear what was said and she simply did not appear to understand the argument that is being made. The argument is this: there are thousands of documents that have been suppressed in relation to this matter. The government has the ability to release them. If it believes they will prove its case—this issue would be put to rest in fact if they would prove its case—it could table them; it could release these documents. But the government is
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