Page 1866 - Week 05 - Thursday, 16 May 2019
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for Australia. He sees us as an economic powerhouse in the post-carbon era. This is about creating a different future, a future that is sustainable, a future that is within our grasp if we take the right decisions. The kind of approach that Ms Lee described in that last debate is out of step with the situation we are in, it is out of step with the science and it is out of step with community sentiment and with the obligations that we all hold as decision-makers to take climate change seriously and respond.
Let me turn specifically to the churlish little amendment that Mr Coe has moved today. It is disappointing that he has sought to go down this path. Let me be very clear: our comment is that we are not saying that people should not participate in society. We have never said that, and that is not a position we seek to inflict on individuals. What we are doing is working hard to make a different future possible, to enable people to lead fulfilling lives without cooking the planet at the same time, because we believe that a different future is possible. The ACT has begun to take the steps to get to that place.
Mr Coe: Is it an emergency or not?
MR RATTENBURY: Mr Coe was heard in silence. I love the delicious irony. Mr Coe stood up before and complained that Mr Milligan was being intimidated. And this comes from a team that shouts at people whom they disagree with.
We are working hard to do things like make it possible to have meetings by phone or videoconference. We have just built a light rail from Civic to Dickson. One of the benefits that will come from this is that ACT public servants can now travel emissions free between the various offices that this government has in the city. This is one of the benefits of building emissions-free transport.
If I were to take Mr Coe’s amendment seriously, I would not be able to go to COAG meetings on behalf of the ACT government. Is he seriously suggesting that the ACT should not be represented at those meetings? At the moment quite a few of those meetings are held by videoconference but they are not all held by videoconference. The federal government calls those meetings.
Mr Coe: Yes, but people dial into them.
MR RATTENBURY: They do not dial into them. You would not know because you have never been to one. And you are not likely to ever go to one. The reality is that the ACT needs to be represented at these meetings. Firstly, I take the bus to some of these, when it is possible. You can look at my travel records and see for yourself. But this is not about my individual behaviour; this is about us as a community working together to address the serious issues that we as a community face. It is not about saying that individuals should not participate in society; it is about working together to build a different future, a better future that is possible, where we live fulfilling lives without living unsustainably. We will not be supporting this amendment moved by Mr Coe today.
MS ORR (Yerrabi) (4.44): I too wish to speak to Mr Coe’s amendment, just to note my disappointment in the amendment. It is disappointing because we have come here
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