Page 748 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009
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Ms Gallagher has a very important and significant meeting with a significant Canberra organisation.
MR COE: That is not a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
Mr Stanhope: All right; it is not a point of order. Madam Deputy Speaker, I ask that Mr Coe withdraw the misleading statement that he just made.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Coe, would you like to correct your statement?
MR COE: I am happy to correct my statement: it was not moved by the Deputy Chief Minister and Treasurer; it was moved by the Chief Minister.
The ACT government needs to take a long hard look at itself before challenging the opposition on the economic crisis. The ACT government has squandered the boom that could have more effectively insulated us from this crisis. It squandered $1.7 billion of revenue. There is no future fund like there was in the federal government. Some $1.7 billion was squandered. Again, the only fund it is interested in is John Hargreaves’s retirement fund.
What do we have to show for it? There was a self-imposed budget crisis a couple of years ago that closed schools, cut services and led to considerable delays in all our infrastructure—and then another budget crisis to follow. There has been no mention of business in this plan or the role that business plays in employment and stimulating the economy. There is no mention of tax cuts to help individuals and no mention of the complete incapacity of the Labor Party to deliver on infrastructure.
Just this week, the Treasurer failed to answer key questions about this stimulus package. Yet we have a motion today which stipulates very clearly how good this package is going to be for us all. I find it very hard to believe that you could move a motion like this without having modelling or without having some sort of advice. But apparently that is the way it is. Then again, when you look at the record of ACT Labor, it is really not that surprising after all. There is really not much evidence to back anything they do; it seems to all be on a whim.
When the Treasurer was asked questions, these were some of the answers. “Well, I’ve got several government media releases.” “The detail has not been worked through yet.” “It is not expected this stimulus package would raise the cost of capital infrastructure for households or businesses.” All that based on no modelling. All that based on no advice and no modelling. Is this the person you really want to safeguard our $3 billion budget? Is this the person you want to oversee $350 million of capital injected into our economy? Of course it is not, and I think the people of Canberra know that.
The proposal that the Leader of the Opposition has moved is one that accurately reflects the real state of play, that accurately reflects what is happening in the federal house of review at the moment. I urge all members to support these amendments.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Minister for Education and Training, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Planning and Minister for Tourism, Sport and
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