Page 27 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 December 2016
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Spanish but my Spanish is rubbish. It is not good at all. I do have some strong links to the Latin American community in Canberra. I would like to further enhance those links and to reach out to others.
With Luisa I have attended a number of Catholic churches in the Tuggeranong Valley, but I am here for the followers of all religions. I am here for followers of the Muslim faith in Canberra. I supported them during my time on the radio and I will continue to support them from here. I have attended open days at the Islamic Centre in Monash and I look forward to spending more time there.
I am here for those Canberrans who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, those who are experiencing housing stress or who find themselves homeless in our capital city. The level of housing unaffordability in this city should shame us all, particularly those on the other side who have had many opportunities to address this problem but have been found wanting. Housing affordability is the biggest single failure from the four terms of Labor government here. I hope that we can work together to make it easier for every Canberran to comfortably have a roof over their head.
I am here for the hard-working small construction firms who are brave enough not to sign enterprise bargaining agreements with certain unions. The last time I looked, this was a free country and I am appalled at the bullying and thuggery that some in our Canberra construction industry must face for simply exercising their rights. I am not anti-union. Unions have helped this country to become great and their input into our nation can never ever be underestimated. I am not anti-union, but I am anti-corrupt union. I am anti any institution—government or otherwise—that deters the aspirations of small business owners and their ability to operate and prosper because small business plays such a big role in turning the wheels of this city.
We must recognise that it is the business community that ensures the employment prospects of thousands in our town and ensures that our kids have a fair chance of a viable future. Of course, we must also recognise our government sectors, both federal and territory, for their massive role in our Canberra community.
I am here for the participants and the followers of the sport of greyhound racing. The greyhound racing industry has been absolutely and fully compliant with all animal welfare requirements for their 37-year history. I think they have every right to question the dismissal of their sport in this city. They do not understand, and neither do I, the basis upon which they are being banished by this Labor-Greens government. To some extent, the appalling lack of consultation does not surprise me because I am sure that if those from the other side ever bothered to join me at the greyhounds one Sunday night, they would be staggered by how many former Labor voters they would encounter. Please join me.
I am here for the LGBTI community in the ACT. For the most part, I do not think it is a concentrated community at all. It is just a bunch of people who are scattered across all parts of the city whose sexuality happens to be different from mine. I am not an advocate for same-sex marriage. What I am is just sick to death of talking about it. It
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