Page 1081 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 20 March 2013
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Knowing this mob, that is going to double or triple. It is the first tranche of it. While Katy Gallagher is saying, “I do not know if I am going to spend $800 million on a hospital,” Andrew Barr is saying, “It is light rail at any cost.”
That is what this mob mean by being progressive. It means that if it is an ideologically sound policy for the comrades back at the young Labor left meeting, then they will be doing it regardless of the cost. But if it is about delivering good health care—maybe something to fix the longest waiting times in our emergency department in the country and in the ACT’s history—they say, “I am not sure if I am doing that. I know we have been talking about it for 10 years, and we certainly guaranteed it before election, but after an election I am not so sure.”
I do have concerns with light rail. Would we like light rail? Yes, we would. Can we afford it? That is the question. This mob have driven us into deficits in the forward estimates of about $575 million and borrowings of up to $2.7 billion. Can we afford it? And can we afford it when this mob opposite, wanting to be the most extreme green government in Australia, are putting in 40 per cent carbon emission targets—I notice that is not mentioned in the motion, but it is eight times the national average—and 90 per cent renewables?
What is the cost of all that? Dr Bourke did not say that in his speech, did he? He did not say that this will cost us a billion dollars, $2 billion, $3 billion. They do not know.
Mr Corbell interjecting—
MR HANSON: Minister Corbell is interjecting when the minister’s own directorate, their own carbon emissions, went up by 40 per cent in the last year. The directorate responsible for cutting emissions—
Mr Corbell interjecting—
MR HANSON: By cutting them by 40 per cent—in one year alone increased them by 40 per cent. So we have very little confidence—very little confidence—that Simon Corbell and his mob will actually do that.
What we do know is that it will be just what this government do on everything that they touch. They will spend taxpayers’ money—they will spend it in buckets—and they will drive us further into debt. They will not actually achieve anything.
I thank Dr Bourke for his motion, for highlighting the policies of this government—the drive from this government and from the Greens to push us to the extremes of the left and the extremes of the greens in Australia.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (10.31): It is great to see the opposition leader so excited at such an early hour on private members’ day. As we have come to expect, the same speech that has been given for, what is it, the last two years now has been dusted off. It is pretty much exactly the same speech as the Liberals, presumably en masse, will entertain us with today.
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