Page 496 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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While I listened to Mr Coe’s comments this morning on this motion I heard all about his experience as a dam builder. I heard about his concern for fish. I heard about his interest in excavations and how deep they should be—whether they should be 12 or 15 or even 20 metres. I heard about his interest in geological studies. I heard about how many cubic metres of concrete he thought was an appropriate number for a dam to be built with. I suggest that if Mr Coe wants to be doing these things he should be in engineering and not in politics.
What I did not hear from Mr Coe is whether the Canberra Liberals support this motion or not. Do you? Are you going to support this motion or not? The silence is deafening, Madam Deputy Speaker. The silence is deafening as to whether the Canberra Liberals actually support this motion and support the idea that an infrastructure development program is going to support a productive and sustainable ACT economy.
My motion puts forward a suite of projects that have been brought forward by this government to support the economy. Why is that necessary? For me, it is personal. I was here in 1996. I ran and owned my own small business, unlike those opposite as far as I know. I saw people lose their jobs. I saw people lose their businesses. I saw people go bankrupt. I saw the pain and suffering this town endured at that time. Now it looks like it is going to happen again, and the ACT opposition are in denial about Mr Abbott’s sacking of public servants and the effect it will have on jobs that are essential to our economy.
I take you back, Madam Deputy Speaker, to Mr Abbott’s comments last year on 8 May reported in the Canberra Times:
Because the public sector payroll in Canberra is about 20,000 more than it was in 2007 and the fact that under this government
—the then Labor federal government—
there’s been a very slight reduction in numbers demonstrates that it can be done, and it will be done much better and much more effectively under a coalition government …
We are yet to see the full impact of those commonwealth government job cuts. The detail of the Commission of Audit report is obviously being held back until after the WA senate election, and the full devastation will become apparent in the federal government’s first budget. That is why this ACT Labor government is talking about maintaining infrastructure and jobs, and I am proud of that. Back in 1996 I was one of the forgotten people of the Canberra Liberals—someone working in small business, owning their own business in this town. They are not interested in supporting this motion to bring about infrastructure to support ACT jobs.
I will talk a little bit about some of that suite of infrastructure progress which will be boosting jobs and the economy. We have already heard from my colleagues about the city plan, the capital metro and Constitution Avenue, but there are others: the north Canberra public hospital bringing more jobs and services to the north; Calvary hospital car park and clinical enhancements at the hospital for front-line services in my electorate and your electorate, too, Madam Deputy Speaker; the new fire and
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