Page 2472 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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Ms Gallagher: My apologies.
MR BARR: Mr Speaker, it was entirely appropriate for these development applications to be called in in accordance with the provisions of the act. I have acted entirely in accordance with the provisions of the act. There is an accountability mechanism. I am not even being given the benefit of that accountability mechanism, because the Liberal opposition are determined to chalk up a political scalp, to chalk up a little black mark against me. That is what this is all about. It is nothing more than that. It should be treated with the derision it deserves.
The Liberal Party should have the courage of their convictions and indicate to the people of Canberra, one way or the other, whether they support an investment in public health, whether they support the provisions of the Planning and Development Act and whether they believe that the accountability mechanisms in that act and the requirement for the minister, having made those decisions, to present material to the Assembly are appropriate. If they do not, let us have a conversation about amending them.
This is going to come up every time. As I say, I have had more than 40 requests to use the call-in powers. It will come up every time; it will not matter what the issue is. Maybe this is something positive that could come out of this entire waste of the Assembly’s time with this censure motion. It may be that we might want to have a discussion in relation to those elements. If, every time I am asked to use my call-in powers, I am going to have to appear before a committee—
Mr Seselja: That is ridiculous.
MR BARR: or if it is only when it occurs during the window of estimates that there is a requirement—
Ms Gallagher: Which is now a caretaker period as well. It is really odd.
MR BARR: If that is going to be the requirement, then, again, let us put that in the legislation. But let us not try and make up the process on the run for purely political purposes.
MS LE COUTEUR (Molonglo) (3.13): The first thing I would like to say is that, although Mr Barr said this debate was about investment in public health, it is about a lot of things but it is not about investment in public health. The Greens certainly support investment in public health and I am pretty confident our colleagues on the other side also support investment in public health. Public health is not what this debate is about.
What this debate is in fact about is the behaviour of the minister. It is about the behaviour of the Minister for Planning who, in the opinion, I think, of the people moving this motion and us, acted in contempt of the Assembly by not appearing before the estimates committee last week, on 9 June, when he was asked to do so. I can understand that Mr Barr did not want to come before the committee. I appreciate
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