Page 5582 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 17 November 2010
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The circumstances, the situation—
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, I draw your attention to House of Representatives Practice on page 480. I was going to wait until the end of your remarks. Can you stop the clock, please, Clerk? But I am not going to wait any longer. It says quite specifically on page 489 and on to page 490 that members will address the chair, that members will not address the house in the second person and that remarks must be addressed to the chair and it is not in order for a member to turn his or her back on the chair. I draw that to your attention and ask you not to refer to members of the opposition or anyone else or to ask them questions directly in the second person, and to direct your comments to the chair.
MR STANHOPE: Madam Chair, I accept your direction, of course, but you will of course call other members of the Assembly to order in relation to constant interjections. Have you heard any interjections at all during my presentation?
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, are you questioning my—
MR STANHOPE: No, I am just asking for your protection from constant interjections.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER: If you do not just proceed with your remarks about the motion, I will sit you down.
MR STANHOPE: Goodness. I was attempting, despite all your interruptions, Madam Assistant Speaker.
What has happened in Casey and Crace is a reflection of change. Change occurs, and when change occurs we have to change the way in which we do things. The concept plan for Casey I think was developed in about 2004, six years ago. An awful lot has happened in Canberra in the last six years. In the context of the processes that are in place as we develop this city, a concept plan for Casey was developed. It was 2004, six years ago. I picture the water under the bridge in that time. Six years ago, our population I think was growing at 0.4 per cent. Our population is now growing at just under two per cent. There has been a massive shift in this town.
A concept plan laid out possibilities in relation to how an estate might develop at Casey and Crace as long ago as that. But think of what has happened in terms of population growth, demand for housing, the global financial crisis, the housing affordability policies that we have in place and the 20 per cent policy that we have developed since 2004 that now requires 20 per cent of house and land packages to be at an affordable level. All of those things have led to policy changes that have led us to rethink, quite appropriately, our estate developments for Casey and for Crace.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.57): It is an interesting debate and I think it comes down to three questions. The first question is: what is a technical variation and does what is happening here fit the descriptions that exist in the law? The second question is on the issue of who sought the variation. We now have so many different stories on
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video