Page 3574 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 18 August 2010
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Ms Gallagher: You can stop now, Brendan. We’ve got it.
MR SMYTH: I can stop now, Treasurer? Do I pass? What score do I get?
Mr Hargreaves: Three.
Ms Gallagher: Three out of 10. It was better before you started reading the amendment out.
Mr Hanson: Is that the content or the style?
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, members. Let us focus on the debate.
MR SMYTH: I am focusing on the debate, but I keep getting chuckles from the Treasurer over there. She is clearly amused by the fact that we can stand up on any issue and are quite competent in our portfolios. We in the Canberra Liberals have done the hard work. We are across the portfolios. We discuss these issues and we have a consistent view, unlike anybody else in this place, on the provision of infrastructure.
You can only commend the Leader of the Opposition for his infrastructure bill. We would not need this motion today if we had an infrastructure commissioner. That is something that the Labor Party have rejected and resisted because they know that, if there was an infrastructure commissioner, that person would clearly highlight the failings of the delivery of infrastructure over the past nine years under the Stanhope government. I commend the amendment to the house.
MR SPEAKER: Members, whilst I am sure I hardly need to comment, can we please endeavour to bring our amendments to the secretariat rather sooner.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Health and Minister for Industrial Relations) (7.42): I do not think it will come as any surprise that we are not going to support Mr Coe’s amendment. I was enjoying Mr Smyth’s presentation until he started reading out the amendment as his contribution to the debate.
We reject the assertion essentially being put forward in the amendment around the planning of infrastructure needs. I think this government has done more than any other government in this place to pull together an infrastructure plan and actually deliver the infrastructure our city needs. You only need to look at education, health or transport to see the effort that has gone into infrastructure across this city.
There will be times when people get irritated about the level of infrastructure development across the city, but that is one of the challenges that I think comes with living in a city that needs a significant step-up in its infrastructure needs. I do not think there is a simple answer to these issues. Certainly, our officials work very hard to coordinate and develop their infrastructure priorities across government and also to ensure that every dollar is wisely spent. A lot of work goes into that.
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