Page 1127 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 6 May 2014
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the park so you cannot use it as a park and you have the high speed road that takes you through the city so that you are there and gone.
In his book, Bill Bryson basically says that Canberra is a city lost in a park looking for a pub. He is a walker. Everywhere he goes he critiques the ability to walk around the city. Unfortunately, he stayed at the Ainslie Rex when he got here and I think that by the time he got to Civic he was a bit tired. He was not particularly complimentary. I get the sense that he liked the attractions, but he said, “It is just so spread out that it is impossible to get a sense of the city.”
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Smyth, your time has expired.
Mr Smyth: I was just getting started.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Chief Minister, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Health and Minister for Higher Education) (5.40): I am sorry to interrupt, Mr Smyth. There were some interesting elements to what you were saying. It was probably one of those rare moments when I would not have begrudged you another couple of minutes.
I thank Dr Bourke for bringing on this matter of public importance today. It is an important time for our city. The release of last week’s commonwealth Commission of Audit really focused people’s minds on the very challenging time we are going to have over the next couple of years. The Commission of Audit was a bit of a distraction, though, for the main game, which is the federal budget, which happens next week. It has set the tone for some uncertainty in relation to what it means for Canberra. The theme, though, is pretty clear. There will be significant cuts to spending, and we expect that to include some pretty significant cuts to public services and potentially some revenue increases.
When I have met with the Prime Minister to discuss the impact of the federal government’s decision on Canberra, he has always given me the response that he does not have any intention of causing harm to the ACT. As I said last week, I think, in the media, I have no reason to disbelieve him at this point in time, but I have to say that some of the signs are not good. For example, some business members and I met with Jamie Briggs, and prior to that I had met with Warren Truss and Jamie Briggs. We put forward a unified position, in accordance with the position of the Canberra Liberals, and indeed Senator Seselja, around the Australia forum, the convention centre, and everyone trying to seek support from the commonwealth for that project.
We have had a lot of listening up at the federal house, and I know that Zed Seselja has been saying that he has been lobbying for it, so I was hoping that, with that bipartisan support, we would see some support for that project coming from the commonwealth. It is simply unrealistic to expect the ACT government to deliver a project of that size. It will require private investment, but it will require investment to get it to the business case ready stage, which will then secure some private investment. I received a letter from the Prime Minister last week saying that they were not in a position to provide any financial support for that project. Whilst I understand what he says to me on one level, the signs are that to date, in response to some of the very modest
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