Page 1853 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video

(1) notes that:

(a) the signing of the contract to construct light rail, five months before an election, was the most arrogant act in the history of the ACT Government;

(b) by signing the contract, the ACT Government has ignored the will of Canberrans to have their say at the election;

(d) the ACT Government has yet to release the contracts related to light rail; and

(2) calls on the ACT Government to publish the contracts, in full, related to the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the Capital Metro light rail project by 17 June 2016.

I thank the Assembly for assisting me with the correction of the typo in the original motion.

Of course, my motion today calls on the ACT government to release in full by 17 June any signed contract in relation to the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the capital metro light rail project. Today’s debate is not about the merits of light rail; it is about whether the ACT government should promptly and completely release publicly the largest contract ever entered into by the ACT government.

The decision of the Labor-Greens government to sign a contract to build capital metro is a political decision. In signing the contract, the Labor Party and the Greens have robbed Canberrans of the chance to be aware of the full cost of the most expensive funding decision ever made by this government or, indeed, by any government. There has never been a more arrogant act by an ACT government. Indeed, there has been never been a contract that locks Canberrans in to such a tremendous debt.

By signing the contract, the ACT government confirms that they do not want Canberrans to have a say on this project. By signing the contract and keeping the contracts confidential, the ACT Labor Party has confirmed that its agenda is being set by Mr Rattenbury rather than the people of Canberra.

Why any government motivated by the desire to do the best for the people whom they represent would sign a controversial contract just five months before an election is beyond me. It stinks of a government motivated by a political agenda rather than by policy or by the outcomes that Canberrans want. It is, of course, disrespectful in the extreme of Canberra’s taxpayers. However, it is of course no surprise to us and no surprise to so many Canberrans. This is a government that lurches from scandal to scandal, from dodgy deal to dodgy deal. It stinks.

My motion today should be supported by the government if they are committed to the principle of transparency. It would be supported by a government that respects the

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video