Page 2240 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 22 June 2011
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motion, firstly, because the Labor Party put it forward and, secondly, because it congratulates us.”
That is the problem with this motion. You have got the same old self-congratulatory, pat-on-the back words “continuing commitment and determination to build Majura parkway”. There are a lot of people out there who do not see any commitment and there are a lot of people who do not see any determination from this government, particularly from this Chief Minister. On talkback radio recently there was one quote: “It is all very well that Ms Gallagher can say she has been lobbying pretty strongly on the Majura parkway but with no success thus far. Will she take the tack of her predecessor and just blame her public service?”
Ms Gallagher: I have not seen anyone else walking the corridors.
MR SMYTH: It is your job. It is your job and if you do not want to do your job, then move aside. You have got the job. When you are held to account—
Ms Gallagher: You have a job too. You just don’t do it.
MR SMYTH: But nobody is doing it for me.
Ms Gallagher: You have a job too, Brendan. Represent the community.
MR SMYTH: That is what you get the big bucks for, Madam Chief Minister. That is what you get paid for. Go and do your job. And what people are saying is that they do not see the fruits of any continued commitment or any determination. We do not have any belief that you do carry forward, and that is our concern with your motion.
There is the question of why you need such a complex motion anyway. Some days, yes, if there are complex issues, then you should have complex motions. What Mr Coe’s motion says—and it is worth reading it out—is:
That this Assembly supports the construction of the Majura Parkway.
There will be due process attached to that. There will be all sorts of things that need to be done. We are not arguing about that. We are not saying we are short-circuiting. We are not giving you a blank cheque. We are not advocating an ACT Assembly call-in of the project. What we are saying is that we support the construction of the Majura parkway. That is all it has to be in this case. And I look forward to seeing all members supporting it. If you do not support it, then I think there will be serious questions about your commitment to us as a city.
Mr Rattenbury talked about real transport solutions. I love the words “shifting the transport paradigm”. Fantastic! “Let us shift that transport paradigm.” What are we doing, shifting into low gear? Are we shifting into overdrive? It is really interesting. B-doubles cannot take the bus to get through Canberra. The ski crowd cannot stop at Watson and get a light rail to get to the snowfields. Local people from the Monaro cannot take a bus to get back home if they have been visiting the rellies in Young. You have to have some common sense in your approach. “Shifting the transport
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