Page 1337 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 25 March 2009
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about the future. We have got a dire situation in Canberra at the moment, but this debate has moved us one step forward to solving the situation we have now and, hopefully, into the future, solving some of the problems that we have and making sure we plan for the impact of the ageing community that we have got.
As a last point, I would note that Mr Stanhope—who seems thoroughly distracted; he is probably talking about his deficit with the Treasurer—once again said during his hectoring of Mr Doszpot that this is a federal issue. That was a line we heard throughout the election campaign on the issues of GPs. Whilst we were talking about GP bulk-billing clinics in the suburbs, whilst we were talking about incentives to attract GPs to Canberra, whilst we were talking about keeping our interns here in the ACT, whilst we were talking about financial incentives to set up GP clinics, the Stanhope rhetoric was “not our problem; it’s a federal problem”. That was what was directed again at Mr Doszpot. It seems to be Mr Stanhope’s line at the moment—nothing is his fault; it is all a federal problem or it is the global economic crisis.
In summary, clearly there is acknowledgement that there is a problem, that the government is not doing enough and that there is something more that we can do. We need to generate ideas; we need to put those ideas to the government and to the minister, who remains distracted by her Treasury portfolio responsibilities. We see in this important debate that she is probably working out how she can take us further into deficit and how she can blame the GFC. Is it the providers? Is it the federal government? I am sure she will come up with someone else yet. Anyway, I look forward to the committee’s report. I look forward to being in some way engaged in that process as the shadow health minister, and I thank members again for their contribution to this debate.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
Order of business
Ordered that notice No 6 private members business relating to social and community housing be postponed until a later hour.
Nicholls shops—car park
MR COE (Ginninderra) (4:52): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) the continuing delay in upgrading the carpark at the Nicholls shops is a considerable concern and frustration to Nicholls residents and businesses;
(b) that the Government’s consultation with Nicholls residents and businesses has been inadequate; and
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