Page 155 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 15 February 2012
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had to look after her children that morning. Just imagine the outrage that would come from Katy Gallagher and the claims of sexism that she has levelled at me before. But when it is on the other foot—when I cannot attend something because I have to look after my young children—she comes into this place and she attacks me. This is what you see—the rank hypocrisy from Katy Gallagher. I had three staff attend that meeting. Is she calling them liars? She is saying that issues were discussed. I have spoken to two of those staff and I have looked at the budget papers.
We are seeing the sort of grubby politics from Katy Gallagher that she accuses us of. When there is a family issue, when she is advised that it is a family issue, she is quite happy to come to this place and throw accusations at me. But if the shoe was on the other foot, I know that there would be a press release claiming that I am sexist, because that is what she has done before when I have criticised her over her ability to manage the Health portfolio. She called me sexist. But in this case, she can attack me on family issues. I just point out that little piece of rank hypocrisy before we go any further.
Let me look at the Greens’ amendments to the Labor amendment. Essentially the Labor amendment is a bunch of excuses. She has admitted that she broke her 2008 election policy. She has admitted that and she is trying to make excuses for it in her amendment. She has not explained why she omitted to clarify the issue of the Canberra Hospital centre when she made her announcement on 12 December. She has failed to provide the details of any health funding. There is no explanation. We are still asking for an explanation. She cannot provide one. And she is coming here with this sort of rank attack on me when she was advised that I could not attend because of a family issue. That is what we have seen from Katy Gallagher—again, evasiveness.
What we are again seeing from the Greens, sadly, is that much of Amanda Bresnan’s speech is about apologising for Katy Gallagher, trying to make excuses for Katy Gallagher, and then turning her attack on the Canberra Liberals. I am not overly surprised; that seems to be the form in this place. But it is instructive that even Amanda Bresnan cannot go as far as saying yes, the money is there. She and her staff looked, and they cannot see the money either.
If the money is there, Katy Gallagher at the very least stands accused of not being able to explain where it is. We have asked her office. No-one in her office knows what is going on either. We have been trying to find out from her office what is happening, and none of them know. None of them could point us to any of them.
I will support Ms Bresnan’s amendments, but only because they make what is an appalling amendment from Ms Gallagher slightly better. I foreshadow that we will support Ms Bresnan’s amendments, because she is not going to be at this stage taken in by the funding spin, but I foreshadow that we will not support the Katy Gallagher amendment that is due to be amended, because what we are seeing here is just watering down and excuses.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Health and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services) (11.26): Mr Hanson has just finished saying he will support Ms Bresnan’s amendments to my amendment but then will not support my
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