Page 130 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 16 February 2011
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the lack of engagement by the Liberal Party on issues around health. That would require of Mr Hanson that he actually do some work and seek to understand some of the issues in relation to health and healthcare. Heaven forbid that any member of the opposition, most particularly Mr Hanson, would present to do any genuine or real work in their particular position. It is so much easier just to attack or oppose—to be oppositional, to be political, to play politics. That is all Mr Hanson does.
For every time to date when Mr Hanson has stood to speak on issues around health—the most significant issue facing the community—just take a moment to go back, get a copy of the speech and read it. See if you can identify through his speech—anywhere in it—any depth of understanding of the complexity, the range and the nature of the issues which the Minister for Health deals with in relation to the management of the health portfolio, the largest, most difficult, most complex and most significant area of government administration.
It is quite clear that every time Mr Hanson opens his mouth he simply displays his complete ignorance of issues in relation to health. He displays his absolute and complete ignorance and shows himself to be unfit to ever, hopefully, be a minister for health in an ACT government. Pity poor Canberrans if Jeremy Hanson ever gets to be a member of a government. Indeed, if he ever gets to be a member of a government, whether he becomes a minister for health or not, it would be a sad and dark day for the people of the ACT.
One of the catchcries that has been spattered through the two speeches that have now been given by the two members of the Liberal Party who have spoken, Mr Hanson and his harassed leader, Mr Seselja, has been an alleged or apparent propensity—
Mrs Dunne: Yes; I think you probably know harassed when you see it.
MR STANHOPE: You would think that Mr Seselja, after eight weeks in bed, would come back a little bit refreshed and a little bit energised to do the job—and similarly for Mr Hanson. Eight weeks off, doing nothing—lying on the beach, lying in bed. Good old Zed in bed.
I must say that yesterday there was a remarkable set of questions for Mr Corbell from ministers, asking him why he had not, by a particular date, signed certain questions on notice—asking what was his explanation. I regret that I did not receive some; I had a few that were a bit late too, and I was waiting for the question. At least I could have given the answer: I actually instructed my officers not to waste their time, because there were no Liberals here at work to read them and they had other more important things to do. I suggested to them that there was no sense in them working overtime on the hundreds of questions they received from committees and members—that they would be better off to wait until the Liberals got back to work after their eight-week break. The imagery of hardworking public servants working overtime answering questions for members of the opposition who were not here because they were all down at the coast, lying on the beach, really struck with me rather a false chord.
Mrs Dunne interjecting—
Mr Coe interjecting—
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