Page 3358 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 October 2022
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in Dickson. The primary tenants that are living now at Common Ground in Dickson are single women with children, in fact.
It is an incredible challenge to build and deliver public housing, social housing, in the ACT when sometimes even your own colleagues are trying to push you in a different direction, but I am very pleased now that we have joined together, as a government, to deliver on social and public housing. We have built on that public housing. We are working very closely to deliver, both in the ACT and working with our federal colleagues.
Mr Parton, I would just like to comment on your advocacy for public housing and public housing tenants, particularly in the ACT. You have—
MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Cain): Ms Berry, you are meant to address the chair.
MS BERRY: Through you, Chair: Mr Parton, you do advocate for public housing tenants in the ACT. I know that you care deeply about every one of the tenants that you represent and draw to the attention of my office. In my office’s dealings with you and your office around individuals and concerns that they raise confidentially, I have appreciated that approach from you. I do sense a change in direction from the Canberra Liberals, albeit a small one, when it comes to supporting public housing. I think that is because of your advocacy and work on that side of the chamber.
Finally, I bring attention back to the amendment that the Chief Minister has moved. We are not giving up on our conversations with the federal Labor government. We will continue our conversations with the finance minister, Minister Katy Gallagher, as well as, in my portfolio responsibilities, with Minister Julie Collins. As I said, there has been an incredible amount of work in a very short period of time—commitments made by the federal Labor government that I have never seen before—and a real commitment to improving and working with states and territories to provide even more social and affordable housing. I look forward to continuing that work, and I look forward to continuing that work with my colleagues here in the government.
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (5.12): I had hoped earlier on in the piece that all three parties had a silly chance of arriving at a conclusion that we could all agree on. I know that there was some toing and froing between Labor and the Greens to arrive at the amendment as it currently stands, but it just does not quite cut the mustard for us. It tiptoes around the issue at hand, and I think it completely ignores what is valid criticism of the federal finance minister.
I understand that Mr Barr and Ms Gallagher spent a fair bit of time working together. But this is not the time or place for the Chief Minister to be running a protection racket for Senator Gallagher.
Members interjecting—
MR PARTON: Well, it is not—and the motion was pretty clear. I think it is weak and pathetic for the Chief Minister to completely ignore that a clear promise was made by the now finance minister to—
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