Page 1940 - Week 06 - Thursday, 9 June 2016
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and tolerant city for all Canberrans. We will not leave the disadvantaged, the disabled or the vulnerable behind, and we will respect and support our ageing community. We are committed to closing the gap for Indigenous Australians. We will help those who are facing the challenges of mental health, drugs and homelessness with compassion. We will address housing affordability and make sure that social housing targets those who are in greatest need.
We will restore the 60 beds—I will say it again—cut by Labor. We will restore the $15 million cut out of policing by Labor. We will place nurses in all of our special schools. We will provide 50 additional buses and reform our entire bus network with our comprehensive bus policy that has been released. We will increase funding for domestic violence prevention and we will also establish a domestic violence court. We will introduce coward punch laws. We will provide for testing of autonomous vehicles. We will duplicate Gundaroo Drive. We will duplicate Cotter Road. We will duplicate Ashley Drive. We will build a flyover on the Barton Highway. We will remove the lease variation charge that is strangling our city. We will simply and improve the ACT’s planning laws. We will make sure we continue to live in a vibrant community by supporting our local arts, sport and cultural organisations.
I said earlier that Labor has copied a number of those policies, Madam Speaker, and I welcome that. But it is a shame that it takes the pressure of an election year for Labor to start considering delivering things that this community actually needs.
Two areas remain that provide the biggest differences between a Barr Labor government and a Hanson Liberal government, that is, rates and light rail. I am pleased to confirm today that we will stop the unfair household rates increases. In this budget $266 million is collected in conveyances that Mr Barr planned to put onto household rates—$266 million extra a year every year onto your rates. This will happen under Labor; it is not a matter of if, it is simply a matter of when.
If we form government in October we will not continue with Mr Barr’s unfair rate rises. We will not transfer $266 million a year onto your rates. That does mean that some stamp duty will remain, but only at the higher end of the market for those who can most afford it and only when people choose to move. We will not put it onto the rates of every Canberran every year, whether they can afford it or not.
Mr Barr interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: You are warned, Mr Barr.
Mr Barr interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: I warn you, Mr Barr.
MR HANSON: As we know, Madam Speaker, this is completely cost-neutral. He does not like this one, Madam Speaker. He does not like this one at all.
And lastly, we will stop light rail. We will, and we can.
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