Page 247 - Week 01 - Thursday, 27 February 2014
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ideas of my own coming out of the submission: collaboratively working with the surrounding regions to help Canberra, as a university city, to meet the skills of the surrounding region; and more collaboration between the ACT and New South Wales governments to develop the region’s existing clean green image to promote and brand our agriculture, specialty foods, tourism, wineries and natural tourism assets such as the Snowy Mountains.
Madam Speaker, I am afraid to say that this committee was not able to agree to a substantive report, which is why I am tabling this special report today. It is very disappointing that we were not able to table a substantive report. You would think that regional development would not be a topic of burning division in this place, but to think that would mean that you have never had to deal with the Liberal Party. Well, that is another thing.
One would have thought that four mature members of this place could have put their heads together and come up with a report that reflected the submissions we received and the evidence we collected at the public hearings. But to think that would mean that you have never had to deal with the Liberal Party. Madam Speaker, it is a question of maturity. The Liberals are trying to blow up the committee system in this Assembly. They are doing a Tony Abbott and playing politics with the committees. By doing so, they have shown that they are disrespectful of our friends all around our region. If anyone has read the submissions that we received from our surrounding local governments, they would have seen that they were extraordinarily enthusiastic about this committee. They took the work of what we were doing seriously. It is a shame others on the committee did not.
Ms Porter and I engaged with this process in good faith and had serious intentions of coming up with a report that recommended better ways for this and any future government to deal with our region. The Liberals on this committee, on the other hand, were dismissive. They played games and were immature in their engagement with our regional partners. I guess that we will be hearing much from those opposite about how they think the committee system is broken. It is not. What is broken is the respect that the Liberals have for our regional partners.
I very much enjoyed meeting everybody engaged in this committee and having insightful conversations with our neighbours in the region. I gained a greater respect for the wonderful area that we live in.
MR WALL (Brindabella) (10.10): I will begin on a positive note and echo Ms Berry’s comments in thanking all of those who gave up their time and their resources, who contributed through the hearings that the committee undertook and also in the preparation of their written submissions. All people in this place are grateful when people within the community and the greater region give up their time and put effort into putting to us as representatives ways in which they think things could be improved, done better—particularly, in this instance, how intergovernmental relations could be improved with the regional councils surrounding the territory.
But again the disappointing part is the fact that partisan politics continues to be brought into our committee system. And as long as we have nobbled committees with two members from each side, this is going to continue.
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