Page 2451 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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opposition. It is interesting to contrast this approach with the fact that this is the first time I have used the call-in powers under the new Planning and Development Act, with an average of five call ins a year under the call-in king, Mr Brendan Smyth.
Mr Seselja: You can’t have it both ways. You can’t say you are against call ins and then say that.
MR BARR: You have just come out today and suggested I should not call it in, Mr Seselja. You are flip-flopping on the issue. Do you or do you not support the use of call-in powers and do you or do you not support this development at the Canberra Hospital? What I have done is provide certainty. It is a $45 million investment; 80 new construction jobs; a resolution to car parking issues at the Canberra Hospital campus; and it facilitates a significant investment in public health.
That is what gets in the craw of the Liberal Party. In their heart of hearts, they are fundamentally opposed to investment in public health. They stand condemned today for their hypocrisy on this matter, for their outright hypocrisy, their inability to put the public good first and their classic opposition for opposition’s sake. It is no better exemplified than by their approach to this issue.
Given their history as the call-in kings of this territory, for them to accuse me in this instance of not taking that responsibility appropriately is an outrageous slur. It is what we have come to expect from a desperate, lazy opposition with no policy substance and nothing useful to add to public debate.
Credit cards
MS HUNTER: My question is to the Attorney-General and it concerns credit card limits in the ACT. Attorney-General, here in the ACT a credit provider must not increase the amount of credit available to a debtor unless requested in writing, and only after the card provider has carried out a satisfactory assessment process. This requirement has been in place for some time and the ACT is seen as a national leader. Has there been an evaluation of the effectiveness of this requirement and has it led to a decline in the ACT of credit card debt?
MR CORBELL: I thank Ms Hunter for the question. No, there has not been a specific evaluation of that matter, but I would draw to the attention of Ms Hunter the fact that the law surrounding credit is being transferred to the commonwealth as a result of COAG agreements, and that includes the provisions currently existing in the ACT statute for the specific provisions in place for credit card providers when it comes to an assessment of someone’s ability to meet their obligations if credit is extended. The ACT is ensuring, through our discussions with the commonwealth, that in the transfer of those powers from the territory to the commonwealth those provisions are not lost or watered down, and it is a matter which is subject to ongoing discussion between the territory and the commonwealth.
Education—special needs
MR DOSZPOT: My question is to the Minister for Education, Mr Barr. Minister, yesterday you announced that non-government schools would now be included in the
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