Page 599 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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Mr Hargreaves: I raise a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
MR COE: Could you stop the clock?
Mr Hargreaves: I ask that you bring the member back to the motion and direct that the federal Treasurer has absolutely no hand in the delivery of the capital works program of the ACT.
MR COE: Of $42 billion?
Mr Hargreaves: I am talking to the Deputy Speaker, young fella. A little bit of manners. Your mum should have taught you about that. You will have to learn here.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Hargreaves, there is no point of order, but, Mr Coe, would you please speak to the amendment.
MR COE: For 22 seconds, I shall. Perhaps the Treasurer could put up her own tip for cheaper petrol. Perhaps that might be a good one that she could put on an ACT ALP TV.
In conclusion, let me say this: the original motion as the Leader of the Opposition put it was about the future. The amendment is about the past and hiding from the future.
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.01): I thank members for their contributions. We will not be supporting the amendment proposed by Ms Gallagher.
Firstly, I will respond to what Ms Hunter had to say in relation to my motion. It is very relevant that we look at this government’s record. We ask them to show us, in the context of that record, what they are going to do differently—what they are going to change in the future, looking forward, to ensure that going forward we do not see the kinds of problems that we have seen over the past few years, so that the community in the ACT can fully benefit from any money that comes to the territory. That is a most reasonable thing to ask from a government. It is most reasonable to ask them, “What is your plan?” At the moment, they do not seem to have one.
We saw the lack of knowledge and the lack of detail in yesterday’s question time. When we asked for details on how they are gong to do it, they were not able to provide them. All we have to go on, therefore, is their record. All we have to go on is their record on capital works delivery, particularly on some of these major infrastructure projects that we have seen over the last few years: the prison, which is still not open, which still does not have any prisoners in it, months after the sham opening; the GDE; and Tharwa Bridge. There is the legacy of this government in failure to deliver and in underspends—as Mr Coe highlighted in his speech—of between 36 and 48 per cent of the capital works budget.
These are major shortcomings—major shortcomings that we have seen over the past few years. If there is going to be more taxpayers’ money thrown at the ACT, we
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