Page 1319 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
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Of course, it has taken an election for Mr Barr and the Labor Party to become accountable to the people with regard to their rates policy. It is a shame that it has taken an election for Mr Barr to respond to the hardship his policy has caused. Canberrans are not easily fooled. Canberrans know this Chief Minister has tripled their rates. They will not be fooled with a $150 rebate when the rates they have been paying have increased by over $1,000 year on year.
Canberrans know this Labor government is responsible for the transport bungles, including axing so many dedicated school buses. They will not be fooled by the minor tweaks announced this week. Canberrans know that this Labor government has seen a wholesale reduction in the tree canopy in the ACT. They will not be fooled by their puny 17,000 tree planting program. Canberrans know that, even before COVID-19, this government had racked up $4 billion of debt with no plan to pay it off.
Now, after having some of the 100-plus communication advisers hyping his economic speech and economic statements, this is all that we get. The economic statement put out this week is simply a sedative—it will not do what the Chief Minister says it will. The economic statement provides no figures and no detail, and after 19 years in office it has no vision for the future of our city.
After 19 years in office Canberra should be a Labor utopia. Instead, everywhere you look there are very real problems for Canberra families. Taxes and rates are at record highs. Hospital waiting times are the worst in the country, and school results are lagging behind and getting worse. Of course, if you live outside the Barr Braddon bubble, you are simply forgotten. Canberrans deserve so much better.
There is a better way, and the Canberra Liberals will deliver just that. The Liberals have worked constructively with the government and with Canberra to protect the health and wellbeing of our citizens. We have also made no secret of our concerns about this government’s lackadaisical approach to protecting jobs and backing the job creators.
We need to support the people in business who take risks, who invest time and money, who put their houses and life savings on the line, who employ Canberrans, who pay taxes and deliver the products we desperately need. The Canberra Liberals honour these people. We thank them for what they contribute to our economy and we want to make their lives easier, not harder.
We have been constructive and we have been recognised by many, including government ministers, for our constructive approach. We have pushed for commercial rates relief for affected businesses. We have advocated for commercial rent relief. We have advocated for drive-through testing facilities. We pushed for the ACCC to stop the gouging by some food delivery services. We pushed for rent waivers for ACT government commercial tenants. We advocated for a place for the homeless to sleep. We sought clarity, coherence and rationality regarding the restrictions. We pushed for fixed water and sewerage charge relief for the empty hotels across the city.
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