Page 873 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 24 February 2009
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investment in our schools and trashing a land rent scheme that is innovative and cutting edge, something that will provide home ownership opportunities for young Canberra families that otherwise—
Mr Hanson: Holding you to account is a principle of what we are doing here, Mr Stanhope.
MR STANHOPE: Young Canberra families earning less than $75,000. We know that you do not esteem them. We know that you do not care about them.
Mr Hanson: And you want their names and addresses. You care so much about them.
MR STANHOPE: That is about, as it has been indicated. Mr Coe stands up in this place and makes suggestions or claims which—to be honest, and it goes to the motion, of course—we just have a tad of difficulty in accepting. It is appropriate, in the context of the question he asks, to provide—not that I amended the motion—names and addresses. All of you do it all the time. You all make representations to ministers and the government all the time on behalf of constituents. I am simply suggesting through this motion to Mr Coe—I receive, I have to say, to his credit, significant correspondence from Mr Coe on behalf of constituents whom he names, all the time, as I do from each of you. Each of you writes to me every day of the week naming constituents—
Mr Barr: Some more than others.
MR STANHOPE: Some more than others, yes. I have not received a letter from Mrs Dunne in five years. But some of you write regularly on behalf of constituents whom you name, whose addresses you provide me. You ask me to contact and ask me to make representations—make representations on their behalf and ask me to respond to their needs. We are simply suggesting that what you do on a daily basis you do through this motion—provide me with the names and addresses and I will respond. I will give them the assurances that I can give them about what a wonderful scheme this is. I will probably drop into the letter a suggestion or two about the Liberal Party’s attitude to the land rent scheme, but you will excuse me that, I am sure.
MR COE (Ginninderra) (3.18): I rise to speak against this ridiculous motion, this ridiculous distraction on what is a complete failure. Not only has this scheme stalled, I reckon the engine is off, the in-principle agreement they had with another financial service. I think we might have heard that before about that scheme. Have we heard it before? I think we might have heard it before.
Here we are, eight months later, eight months down the track, and we still have 39 families that are frustrated. The Chief Minister may disagree with people in his department about whether they are actually frustrated or not. But they are the professionals. Mr Dawes was a professional when he was appointed. Mr Stanhope has spoken very highly of Mr Dawes in this place since my election. I can recall him speaking very highly of Mr Dawes; so I would find it very hard to believe the Chief Minister would question the judgement of Mr Dawes when it comes to this matter.
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