Page 5078 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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The policies that are pursued by the Labor Party and the Greens are going in the direct opposite direction of what the Greens are claiming they want to achieve through this motion. They have no credibility on this, and they have no credibility because they have been part of a coalition now for three years. They are saying to the community: “Don’t look at what we’ve done for the last three years. Look at what we’re putting in our motions now.”
Ignore the fact that they have had the balance of power. Ignore the fact that they have controlled and had significant influence over this government and they have chosen not to use it. They have chosen not to use it to achieve virtually any of the significant commitments in their parliamentary agreement. They certainly have not done it to improve the lives of small businesses or to improve the businesses of cafe owners and others in Civic.
They stand condemned for their record, and they will be judged on their record, along with the Labor Party. They will be judged as to what this alliance has achieved for the people of the ACT. From what we can see from these motions, I think they are now starting to read as a litany of the things they have not got done—a litany of failure from the Greens and the Labor Party. But the Greens have to take their share of responsibility, because they are the ones who are part of this coalition. They are the ones who are keeping the Labor Party in government and they are the ones who have done nothing about these things that have been put forward in the motion. Mr Speaker, the Liberal Party will not be supporting Ms Le Couteur’s motion today.
MR CORBELL: (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (5.55): Mr Speaker, the recently released draft ACT planning strategy emphasised the importance of urban intensification for all of Canberra’s town centres and their inter-town transport corridors. It also reinforces the city as the pre-eminent commercial centre for Canberra. Indeed, the city is where the national, regional and municipal roles of Canberra coalesce. It is one of the community’s most important meeting places. It must not only be a place that reflects our values as a community. It must also continue to be a place where people are encouraged to participate in all aspects of our city’s cultural, commercial and community life.
The city has experienced a number of cycles of development, including a period of growth led by the investment from the Queensland Investment Corporation into the Canberra Centre. The city is, Mr Speaker, experiencing another cycle and one that is, I am sure, reflective of the broader national economy.
It is important that we take this time to refresh all of the government’s activities in the city and ensure that we maintain a truly coordinated approach. As has been flagged by the government’s draft planning strategy, Canberra has a unique metropolitan structure that, if we play to its strength, can make Canberra one of the most sustainable and liveable cities in the world.
There is no doubt that the growth of the Canberra Centre has made a strong and timely contribution to the development of the city. The introduction of new offices
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