Page 1666 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 9 May 2018
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MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Ms Cheyne, resume your seat. Ms Cody on a point of order.
Ms Cody: Mr Assistant Speaker, I believe we have anterooms if people want to have a conversation. This is getting ridiculous now. Mr Coe spoke throughout the duration of my speech and the speeches of the Chief Minister and Minister Gentleman. They are continuing to speak and interrupt Ms Cheyne while she is speaking.
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Thank you, Ms Cody. Resume your seat. Please, keep it down—Mr Hanson and Mr Coe in particular. Ms Cheyne.
MS CHEYNE: Thank you, Mr Assistant Speaker. I am getting quite the workout. This government is committed to improving and increasing services to meet the needs of our growing city, whether it be introducing new waste disposal schemes, improving accessibility for elderly residents or providing more conveniently accessible healthcare services or transport services. I implore the opposition, instead of criticising these motions, maybe to pay some attention to them and realise how devoid of policy they are as a party.
Where are their alternatives? Instead of just criticising the amazing things that we are doing in this city, what is their alternative policy? What is it? I would be delighted to know, Mr Assistant Speaker. I will conclude there. I have done the best I can in reducing the length of my speech given the four minutes of interruptions I received from the other side. I ask, through you, Mr Assistant Speaker, that they reflect on their appalling behaviour today.
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (12.09), in reply: I would like to thank everyone who spoke to my motion this morning. It is a very important motion that calls on the Assembly to continue to invest in the city in which we all live and work daily. As noted in my motion, my speech and in the speeches of many of my colleagues this morning, Canberra is growing. It is growing by 7, 000 people a year. That is a lot of people for this city to continue to educate, to continue to provide healthcare services for, to continue to provide jobs for, and to continue to provide the wonderful experiences that this city offers on a daily basis.
The fact that major international companies continue to come to Canberra and to invest in the ACT is also a credit to this Barr Labor government. I spoke about a few of those in my opening speech. I have to agree with Ms Cheyne’s final point. It is that those opposite have spent all morning—during this debate in particular—having private conversations. So I am very surprised that Mr Coe was able to raise any points when he rose to speak because, to be perfectly honest, I am not sure he heard anything I had to say.
As we have all noted this morning, Canberra is a growing city. Canberra needs ongoing, long-term, strategic investment in services and infrastructure to keep it moving and productive. I note that Mr Coe this morning suggested that I had not called on the government to do anything. I have called on the government to continue to invest in this wonderful city that we have here in Canberra, to continue to invest in
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