Page 7 - Week 01 - Monday, 31 October 2016
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challenges and the new opportunities that city life in the 21st century offers. Now is the time to be bold, not to retreat into our shell in the face of wider economic uncertainty. We are no longer Sydney’s or Melbourne’s little brother. We stand as a city proudly in our own right.
Now is the time to demonstrate pride in the Canberra of today and to also set out a clear vision of what Canberra can be in the future. We are doing that by investing in transport infrastructure to create a strong, new urban spine for our city and to drive urban renewal to give our residents a wider range of housing choices and economic opportunity. We want to see our city centre prosper and evolve. A confident, a bustling and a growing city needs a vibrant CBD, and we will deliver that outcome with a new delivery agency established to guide this important work.
I would like to take a moment this morning to acknowledge the former opposition leader, Jeremy Hanson. Jeremy, thank you for what was a hard fought and challenging campaign, but it was one that was focused on the issues, as we discussed before the campaign. We both honoured that commitment. Thank you and I wish you the best in whatever role the Leader of the Opposition decides for you in this place.
Congratulations to Alistair Coe and to Nicole Lawder. Leading a political party in this place is a great honour. I know you have stepped forward to this challenge, and I look forward to working with you. There will be times, undoubtedly, when we will disagree on policy and on politics. However, I am optimistic that there are times when we will agree and we can work constructively together, and I look forward to that happening.
Welcome back to the Greens Party. I look forward to working with you to deliver a parliamentary agreement that reflects a very strong, progressive vote for our two parties in this election. Ninety-four thousand people voted for the Labor Party; just over 25,000 voted for the Greens Party: a strong, progressive vote. Our shared commitment to improve health care, education, transport and housing in our city will make life better for Canberrans, and I look forward to working with both of you to achieve these important goals.
I want to thank everyone in the Labor family who contributed to our election victory: all of candidates who worked incredibly hard; our staff, lead by campaign director, Matt Byrne and my chief of staff, Jamie Driscoll; our thousands of members, supporters and volunteers across the city. I want to thank my family and my partner, Anthony, who is up the back there, for their love and their patience, frankly, and their support for everything I want to achieve in public life.
Finally I thank the people of the ACT for putting their trust in me and this energetic and renewed Labor team. We will get to work today and later this afternoon I will announce the ministerial portfolios. My team will bring forward a significant legislative program when sittings resume in this place in December. Let me assure the people of the ACT that their government will work hard and work smart for them every day to keep the Canberra we love but make it even better.
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