Page 4204 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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I will give you an example of what Mr Coe could have included in today’s motion if he was genuinely concerned about the plight of Canberrans on low incomes. The concession system is critical for maintaining fairness and maintaining households, in fact, for Canberrans with low incomes. There is a concession specifically targeted to help people with their gas and electricity bills, the utilities concession. It is available for renters and home owners on pensions, including the aged pension, the disability pension and Newstart.
If Mr Coe was genuine, he could maybe have even included a call to raise the utilities concession which, coincidently, the government increased by $46 from 1 July this year. He did not do that. He could have linked that in some way to the changes in rates collections. That would have been a possible approach.
But the reality is: I do not think these motions are actually about helping people who are living in poverty at all, unfortunately. I fear that they are largely a political attempt to paint the Liberals as a moderate party which backs low income people. I really appreciate that this is a very hard message for the ACT Liberal Party to sell because their federal colleagues clearly have no concern whatsoever for people on low income.
Look at what has happened to Newstart, or rather what has not happened to Newstart. Look at robo-debt. Look at many, many other policies of the federal Liberal Party and it is really hard for the ACT Liberal Party to put forward the proposition that they actually are a moderate party that backs the considerable issues of people on low incomes in Canberra. I am not trying for one minute to say that there are not issues for people on low incomes in Canberra, but the ACT Liberals unfortunately have not yet put forward anything resembling a coherent policy to support low income Canberrans. I am afraid I can only give the liberals an “E” for effort, not an “E” for excellence.
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (11.47), in reply: Mr Assistant Speaker, you would have thought that Ms Le Couteur could have at least touched on the transparency aspect of the motion. But she pretty much avoided that completely because she is a member of a party that talks a big game when it comes to transparency but is not so good at delivering when it comes to the government that they have kept in power for such a long time. You would think the Greens could at least say that there should be more transparency; there should be scrutiny. Instead Ms Le Couteur actually delivered the political speech of the day whilst criticising me for being political.
We unashamedly come into this place on a regular basis and stand up for the Canberrans that are doing it tough as a result of this government’s policies. The rates, taxes, fees and charges that the government has imposed are hurting people right across the territory. It is the Canberra Liberals who are standing up for the working poor of this city because those opposite are no longer a workers party. They are a party of the elite. They are a party that cannot tolerate anybody who disagrees with them. They are a party that are disrespectful. We on this side of the Assembly will keep fighting for the many Canberrans that want to stay in this city, that love this city and that want a fair go. Instead they are battling. They are doing it tough in this city because of this government’s policies.
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