Page 596 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 11 February 2009
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
In the 15 seconds remaining to me I should respond to Ms Hunter’s suggestion in relation to the difficulty for states and territories in implementing these projects and the additional workload on ACT public servants. Fortunately, the commonwealth has made provision within the budget for project management, so we are able to meet those needs.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (10.51): I rise to speak on this bill because this bill is about the future.
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! Let us hear from Mr Coe.
Mr Seselja: The bill may well fall over. It was looking a bit shaky yesterday.
MR SPEAKER: Mr Seselja, we are waiting for your side to speak.
MR COE: This motion is about the future. However, what the amendments have done is remove an obligation on the government to talk about their plan for the future. Meredith Hunter, member for Ginninderra, spoke earlier and said, “We have gone through this before; we have gone over this before.” That is largely what parts of No 1 in the original motion are about. However, section 2 in the motion is about the future. It is about what the Stanhope-Gallagher government are going to do in the future with regard to capital works. Sure enough, they have tried to get rid of that part of the motion because there really is no plan. They have tried to put to the chamber this very weak motion which once again removes the Labor Party from any obligation to talk about the future.
After all, why would you want to talk about the future when you have got a past like the Labor Party’s? The last seven years—they cannot deliver budgets on time; they cannot deliver capital works on time. They have had $1.673 billion of windfall—$1.673 billion. Imagine what you could do with that amount of money. Imagine, if you were in Tuggeranong, what you could do for that—or if you were in Woden, Weston Creek, the inner south, north Canberra, Gungahlin or Belconnen. What would you do?
What you might do with some of that money is put some pay parking in hospitals. That is a good bit of infrastructure, isn’t it? I am sure that all those opposite love that. They love putting in pay parking in hospitals. It was a roaring success. It is one of their great infrastructure success stories. Is it any wonder the ALP’s vote in Ginninderra went backwards by so much? Is it any wonder that there was a 14.5 per cent swing against the Chief Minister in his own electorate—14½ per cent?
What would you do with $1.673 billion? If you were in the Howard government, you would have put together a future fund. You would have put together a future fund to prepare for rainy days. In the boom times you put away so that in the bad times you are well resourced. But no, not this government—not the ALP government here in the ACT. No future fund with that $1.673 billion. No future fund. The only future fund
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .