Page 3790 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 24 August 2011
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(e) that the Chief Minister has written to the Federal Liberal Party regarding this issue; and
(2) calls on the Leader of the Opposition:
(a) to follow the Leadership of the Chief Minister and write to his Federal colleagues about the Federal Liberal scheme to sack Canberrans; and
(b) to stand up for the Canberra community and publicly denounce the Federal Liberal scheme to sack Canberrans.
I am happy to move this important motion regarding the destruction of jobs in Canberra. On this subject the difference between the Labor Party and the Liberal Party could not be more stark. The contrast goes to the very essence of our philosophy as opposed to that of those opposite. The federal Liberal Party wants to sack up to 12,000 Canberrans from the public service. The Canberra Liberals, to date, by their silence have shown their support for this scheme. We do not even need to speculate at what an Abbott federal government would do. We only need to look to our recent history and the election of the Howard government in 1996—a government that ravaged the public service in this town with their slash and burn mentality because they could not help themselves. It is in their DNA. The proof of that is the silence that we observe from those opposite—a stony silence that proves beyond doubt that they support the plans that will see an Abbott Liberal government wreak havoc on the commonwealth public service and the economy of this town.
Labor, on the other hand, has always been the party of working people and the party that creates jobs. Consistent with its charter of working to improve the lot of every citizen, Labor has always been in the business of creating jobs. This is especially the case with this ACT Labor government. One of the best ways a government can create jobs for Canberrans is to invest in infrastructure for Canberra. That is because when an economy’s building sector is sound, the economy itself is sound. When it comes to investing in infrastructure, no other ACT government can hold a candle to this one.
The ACT government is investing record amounts in building better infrastructure to prepare Canberra for the future. ACT Labor has a 10-year infrastructure plan—the blueprint for the investments we are making and will continue to make. Our plan demonstrates how the government’s vision for the territory translates into real services, real infrastructure and real jobs. Our city faces many challenges and opportunities as our population grows and ages, as we adapt to a low carbon economy and as we continue to ensure the ongoing strength of our economy. At two per cent, our current population growth is above the national average. Over the next decade Canberra’s population is expected to rise by more than 50,000 to 414,367.
Labor are committed to ensuring that Canberra’s community is ready to meet these challenges and harness our future potential as a city. Our infrastructure investments and plan demonstrate how we intend to do this over the next decade in the key priority areas of health, education, jobs and the environment. Our plan is about delivering services, creating jobs and providing certainty for the ACT business community. Every dollar we invest in our valuable community infrastructure is an investment in
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