Page 2582 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 1 August 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
If a Liberal government were ever elected, would it be up to the individual health minister—his personal point of view, heaven forbid—whether or not to re-criminalise abortion? A year ago we asked Mr Coe to reassure the Canberra community that this would not be the case. A year later we are still waiting.
Madam Speaker, you and I know that the Liberal Party prides itself on supporting individual freedoms and responsibilities. It follows, then, that they should absolutely be supporting a woman’s right to choose as a policy platform, leaving a decision up to each individual woman in the ACT community rather than up to whoever they might choose to be their health minister. I encourage them to reflect carefully on their continued hypocrisy.
It has been a year and that is long enough. The opposition leader needs to reassure women of Canberra that this entire Assembly—not just Labor, not just the Greens, not just the government—respects them as autonomous individuals who are capable of making their own decisions about their own bodies, supports those women who make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy and recognises that a woman deserves to be treated with dignity and respect when she accesses abortion services, because her decision is no-one else’s business. These principles are not conscience-based; they are principles. Their applicability in our community should not be left to the personal views of individuals opposite.
Back in 2002, when legislation decriminalising abortion was passed, Wayne Berry said that we had to be vigilant about protecting well into the future any gains that were made at the time. Given that it has now been a year since the opposition revealed that it has no policy platform on women’s reproductive rights, it is more important than ever that members in this place continue to be vigilant.
Professor Patrick Troy—tribute
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management and Minister for Urban Renewal) (6.12): The ACT government pass on our condolences to the family and friends of Professor Patrick Troy, who passed away suddenly at the end of July. Professor Troy was an active voice in the professional planning sector and community, with an extensive background as an engineer, town planner and public servant.
Professor Troy carried a passionate voice and challenged ideas about the vision for Canberra. He was a true advocate for the future of our city. With his background in planning, as well as housing, infrastructure, transport, urban planning and development, he was always willing to challenge governments of all persuasions on how to balance urban growth and sustainability even before it became a mainstream consideration. He was also a passionate advocate for social justice.
The vision set out in the Walter Burley Griffin and Charles Weston eras was an important element and long-term vision that Professor Troy championed for the territory to maintain. More closely related to the public sector, Professor Troy was a
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video