Page 4025 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 30 October 2013
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He uses words. We know on that budget day he said something at the breakfast that we were not invited to. He talks about the hand of friendship and bipartisanship but we were excluded from the budget debate by threats that it would not go ahead if we were invited. He played to the crowd by saying, “Yes, I am happy to work with the business community.” But when he got back here he said, “No, it is not going ahead until the feds fund it.” That is the problem with this minister. There is no commitment and there is no truth in what is said here.
What are the outcomes of today if this amendment gets up? The outcome is that there will be no trust. There will be no body because he said, “I do not know.” He has not thought about this. This project has been on the table now for 12 years. I put forward convention central in February 2006, which was really the catalyst for this work to continue.
Mr Barr interjecting—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Barr!
MR SMYTH: Nothing has genuinely happened. Give him credit for some money; $250,000 went to the Australia forum study. They put $1 million in and called it the Australia forum work but it was money used to progress city to the lake so that they could get some more money from the sale of retail land. Hardly any of that $1 million was actually spent on furthering the Australia forum concept.
We cannot even get a commitment out of him about whether it is the actual site. Is the site on City Hill now the site?
Mr Barr: Yes.
MR SMYTH: Is it?
Mr Barr: It is the site.
MR SMYTH: It is the site?
Mr Barr: It is the site.
MR SMYTH: The government wants it built there?
Mr Barr: Yes.
MR SMYTH: There you go. Let the Hansard catch that. Did the minister say—
Mr Barr: That is what I said in my statement.
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Mr Barr! Mr Smyth!
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