Page 2108 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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get very little from it? What about them? What about the people, for instance, who sent their children to the Shepherd Centre? Where is the redress for them? What about the people who are kinship carers? Where is the mention of kinship carers in this? And they said that there is systematic child abuse. That is not addressed. What about the Indigenous people of this jurisdiction? They said: “We are not being represented by this government. We are not being given the resources that we are entitled to and the funding is a disgrace.” What about the people with disability? What about those in the suburb who simply want a street tree that is alive and flourishing? They are not mentioned. It is glib to say, “Parliamentarians, three; politicians, two.” Mr Hargreaves and the Greens failed to address the need of the people. They were there to stand up for the people of the ACT and ask the hard questions, hold the government to account.
In the case of the Greens, perhaps they could be third-party insurance, but yet again, in this report and in their behaviour during the committee, what they perpetrated on the people of the ACT is third-party insurance fraud. On a number of occasions, when we were getting close to things that the government were clearly uncomfortable about, we were shut down. Indeed, on a number of occasions Ms Hunter answered the questions for ministers. I asked a question in education when I said, “Minister, of the 13 per cent that do not go on in education, do we know what is happening with them?” I asked:
Where are they going? How many are going to CIT or TAFE? How many are going to a non-govie and how many are not continuing …
The chair butts in and the exchange continues:
THE CHAIR: You will get some of that information in the school census, but—
Mr Barr: Yes.
MR SMYTH: Thank you.
THE CHAIR: I would be interested to know—
She tries to go on to another question. The questioning continues:
MR SMYTH: I am intrigued that you are answering the minister’s questions, Madam Chair.
THE CHAIR: Only because I have been studying this document.
Mr Barr: Chair, if you want to move over—
So Andrew knows they are in alliance. He says: “Come on over. Come on over, Meredith.” And it just goes on:
MR SMYTH: But the question is not to you. If you want to move over and assist the government, go and sit on their benches.
THE CHAIR: No, it is just that I know there are some important questions to get through.
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