Page 1233 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 24 March 2009
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This government is focused on delivering services to the community with a staff that is equipped to do so. This government will not resort to false economies such as in training for our public service. The government is not about sifting through rubbish bins looking for half-used biros or unused paperclips. We will use the opposition to do that.
I make note that Mrs Dunne raised the issue of public art, which she described as a waste of money. Only yesterday, I was talking to members of a group of Civic centre businesses; they applauded the government for its investment in public art. It just goes to show that one cannot account for taste.
As a committee member on the recent review of annual reports, I would like to highlight the tremendous job done by the various departments and agencies. The work and the programs being delivered were not a display of waste. Rather, they were a display of effective services and work practices. I commend the people involved in delivering those services. And on the matter of paper usage, I note with concern that those opposite indeed have a problem with the amount of paper being used. Perhaps that explains why their policy platform was so thin during the last election. Perhaps they did not want to use the paper.
I will make note of Ms Hunter’s call for retrofitting energy and water saving units in government facilities.
Opposition members interjecting—
Ms Gallagher: You only come down and make jokes. Just go back. I’m sure there’s someone waiting for you.
Opposition members interjecting—
Mr Smyth: It keeps us entertained.
Ms Gallagher: I know; I can see that. It’s your own little team-building exercise, is it, a happy camp over there?
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Ms Gallagher, Ms Burch has the floor. Can we stop this dialogue across the room? Mr Seselja. Mr Smyth.
MS BURCH: I note Ms Hunter’s call for retrofitting energy and water saving devices in government facilities and I note that the third appropriation is allocating over a million dollars for ecologically sustainable development upgrades in schools. That is not wasteful; that is forward thinking and a good use of resources.
This government is about rebuilding our health infrastructure for the next decade and beyond. This government will continue to develop an education system that we need now and into the future. This government is mindful that it has been entrusted by the taxpayers of the ACT with their money. The government’s record on improving the efficiencies of its operations is unparalleled; the government will continue to deliver
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