Page 3493 - Week 09 - Thursday, 21 August 2008
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It is nice that they copied our GDE promise; it is nice that they copied part of our infrastructure plan. I would encourage them to go the whole way and copy the whole policy: it is a good policy, it is the right policy and it is the policy that will take us out of some of the short-term thinking that has led not only to the debacle that is the GDE but to the power station. You have touched on that, Mr Deputy Speaker. We have also seen the issue around airport roads. Only now are we slowly starting to see some work occur on that, after years in which we could see this problem coming—we could see this bottleneck for people along that eastern corridor of Canberra. This government is now doing what is necessary to finally get going on that.
That is the kind of short-term thinking we have seen. We saw the short-term thinking on the dam, didn’t we? We saw the short-term thinking: “No, we won’t need a dam for 20 years, if ever.” I think that was the Chief Minister’s position in 2006: “We won’t need it—unless it doesn’t rain for a few months and then, jeez, we’ll need it.” That is how long term the thinking was. The plan was so sound that having a few months when it did not rain much meant that “20 years or never” went to “we need one soon”. It was always going to be needed. This government could not get it done. We called for them to do it; we had it as our policy. They have finally said that they will build a bigger dam; they have finally said that. But in 2006 they thought that we would never need one; Mr Stanhope said that we would never need one.
This government has failed on infrastructure. It has failed in the delivery; it has failed in the management. It will stand condemned on its record on infrastructure development in the ACT.
MR DEPUTY SPEAKER: The time for this discussion has expired.
Legal Affairs—Standing Committee
Statement by chair
MR STEFANIAK (Ginninderra): Pursuant to standing order 246A I wish to make a statement on behalf of the Standing Committee on Legal Affairs performing the duties of a scrutiny of bills and subordinate legislation committee.
In relation to the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Bill 2008, which amends the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Act 2008 with reference to the time for giving notice of a claim to the nominal defendant, the committee has examined the bill and offers no comment on it.
Standing orders—suspension
Motion (by Mr Stanhope) agreed to, with the concurrence of an absolute majority:
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent order of the day No 2, private members’ business, relating to the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Bill 2008, being called on forthwith.
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