Page 2247 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 4 August 2015
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We are taking a large number of people, many of whom have lived for a long time particularly on Northbourne Avenue but in other areas as well—such as Strathgordon Court that Mr Gentlemen was just talking about in his statement—away from their families and friends. They will be taken away from their doctors and other medical support and specialist services they may need. They will be moved away from educational institutions they may be studying at. Who knows, they may be moved from their church infrastructure, their favourite herbal medicine outlet, their butcher or their friendly newsagent, and put somewhere else and they do not have a say. They are being moved because we have a government that has not managed its budget properly. We have a government that has not managed housing properly and we have a government that has an overriding commitment to a light rail, a tram—let’s call it what it is, a tram—for political reasons because it did not do the work before it decided on the route.
This is what happens when you have a government, for instance, that has not paid particular attention to the economy and diversified the economy for other streams of income. It is dependent on land sales. This is largely a land-based economy because Labor over 15 years has led it that way. It loves the profits of land-based taxes. You only need to look at the way your rates are tripling to know that. Mr Barr proudly announced that conveyances had been abolished, but this year they grow from $220 million to $260 million in the outyears in the budget papers. It is a magic tax.
This government has not paid attention to the economy. That is the stark reality. It is dependent on the next land sale for whatever it can get for it without taking into account the long-term use of the block of land and the real value to the people of Canberra from that block of land. As a consequence, the people who are resident along Northbourne Avenue are being moved so the land-based government under the land-based Chief Minister can make another land-based sale so it can live off the profits of the land instead of properly diversifying the economy.
Minister Burch just tabled the 2015 arts strategy framework. It is funny—I think the document is on the desk—because there is a tabling statement the minister forgot to give. Perhaps that is because the minister did not want to have a debate about such a thing as an arts strategy because, of course, arts is one of the big drivers of the diversification of economies and there is not very much mention of it in the 2015 arts framework. Why am I surprised?
It is important we make sure that public housing tenants are not disadvantaged. It is important to locate public housing in the ACT close to public transport routes to avoid public housing tenants experiencing transport disadvantage, which leads to social exclusion, as you well know, Madam Assistant Speaker, and I acknowledge your work in your previous life in this sector. If you are separated from where you have become accustomed to being, where your family and friends more than likely are, where your social and support services are more than likely located and where the things that you like and keep you safe are, this can lead to social exclusion, and that is not something we want to occur.
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