Page 3537 - Week 08 - Thursday, 18 August 2011
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waiting a decade for this road. But if you listen to Simon Corbell, it is early. When were you planning on delivering it, Simon? Was it a 20-year plan? Extraordinary—absolutely extraordinary. There was an incredulous reaction to that statement from Simon Corbell by members of the media. We heard the awkward interview that he gave when he was asked about his tweet. He said, “No, really; it is early.” Believe me, Madam Assistant Speaker—no credibility.
I come back to where we started. I have laid out a different approach. I have laid out the fact that this government simply have no credibility on roads delivery. But we come back to that WIN story, the iconic failure of this government. It goes to their priorities; it goes to their competence; it goes to their ability to deliver; and it goes to their integrity and honesty when they claim that it is early, when they claim that it will never have to be duplicated. It goes to this government. This attempt to blame anyone else is a joke.
We can do better. We have got a plan to do it. The government should get on board instead of giving Canberrans more and more of the same, which we have seen over the last decade.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (3.36): I welcome the opportunity to debate this matter of public importance today. The government agrees that it is important to deliver road infrastructure in a timely fashion. The development of our city depends on the delivery of such infrastructure. I want to turn first and foremost to the childish critique we have heard from the Leader of the Opposition, who seems to suggest two things. He seems to suggest, first of all, that there was sufficient funding allocated by the then Liberal government in the 2001-02 budget to construct the project as a duplicated road. Secondly, he seems to suggest that time frames that are set out in the budget papers, against which the government is held accountable, are not relevant.
Let me deal with the latter of those two first. The fact is that in the budget papers, when the duplication moneys were first set aside following the 2008 election, we set out what the time frames were and we set out which of those time frames we would be held accountable to. That was that the duplication would be completed by December this year. The fact is that, weather permitting, those roads will be open, the duplication will be open, by the middle of October this year. I do not know which project they are looking at, but the project that I am looking at is the project that was allocated in the most recent budget papers.
Mr Seselja interjecting—
MR CORBELL: Madam Assistant Speaker, I heard Mr Seselja in silence and I would ask you to remind him to hear me in silence. He might not like my arguments, but I am entitled to be heard in silence, Madam Assistant Speaker.
MADAM ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mrs Dunne): Mr Seselja, you were largely heard in silence.
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