Page 4288 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 13 October 2009
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I have come to this decision after consulting with my family, staff and colleagues, and I informed the Chief Minister last week of my intention to resign from the ministry. The Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, and my fellow Labor colleagues have my total and unequivocal support.
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MR HARGREAVES: I think the time for that sort of expression is some other time, Mr Hanson. I will say it once again, in case those people missed it. The Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, and my fellow Labor colleagues have my total and unequivocal support and I intend to continue to serve the people of the ACT and the Labor Party from the Assembly backbench.
I leave the ministry of my own volition, for personal reasons. As I said last week, the selectively negative media attention that has dogged me for the last 12 months has taken its toll on me and my family and has been a factor in my decision.
I have always believed that the most important job of government is to make our communities safe, vibrant and inclusive and I have always believed in the primary importance of my role as a local MLA in the electorate of Brindabella. I cherish the personal connection that I have between myself and my constituents and the many stakeholders I have met on a daily basis while carrying out my ministerial duties.
I am proud of my achievements as a minister in the ACT Labor government over the last five years, and prior. As a minister, I have always tried to join the dots between the real person on the ground and the policy decision being made, and encouraged all of cabinet to do the same.
My proudest achievements as a minister include the creation of community fire units, which is something that Mr Corbell and I share a passion for, and also my work around the creation of community policing at the time when I was minister for police. And I will say that the biggest heartbreak I had was the passing of Audrey Fagan.
While I was Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, I introduced significant reform in the taxi industry, expanded the network of bicycle lanes, introduced a transport gold card for over-75 seniors, major road upgrades, local shopping centre upgrades, static speed cameras, and expanded the ACTION bus network.
As environment minister, I outlawed tail docking, preserved the Albert Hall, or tried to, and introduced compulsory microchipping and desexing of cats and dogs in the ACT.
I oversaw many initiatives, as minister for disability, designed to give a voice to Canberrans with a disability, to break down barriers and to improve social inclusion in the sector, such as improved funding for individual support packages, launching the companion card in the ACT and revitalising the Disability Advisory Council.
As Minister for Housing, I was responsible for changing housing need eligibility from a time-based system to a needs-based one, reducing average waiting times to below
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