Page 467 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 28 June 1989
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Mr Jensen: The Residents Rally for Canberra, thank you.
MR BERRY: Well, it is the Residents Rally party, a declining machine. I think any examination of the dreaded pink document will demonstrate the similarities to ALP policy. It is commendable at least that you have looked upon a progressive group for an insight into the political direction that you might take in what is, after all, a fairly trendy approach to politics. I would have to say on my estimation of the success of the party that it has failed in convincing the Canberra electorate it is in fact a community party. I think it is fairly clear that the Rally has failed to con anybody into accepting that it represents any more than an opportunistic group within the community. But I am quite confident that come the next election the progressive groups in politics in the ACT will fill the seats on the Government side of this house. Merely plagiarising policies I do not think is good enough to win you the support that is necessary to do that.
I should say in relation to the proposal for examination of the environmental issues as proposed by Mr Moore that it left out certain things. I take Dr Kinloch's words where he said that we all should work together on this issue. It strikes me as rather odd as a follow-on to those words that the Residents Rally party has tried again to grandstand on a popular issue to try to strengthen what it has claimed in the past to be its community support.
The fact of the matter is that, if the words uttered by Dr Kinloch were true, there would have been an attempt to have a joint approach towards examination of this issue. But I am sure that, if there had been a joint consideration of what the approach might be for examination of this issue, the point that was raised by my colleague Mr Wood would have been incorporated in the proposal by Mr Moore. We need to direct a good deal of our attention and resources to education of the community and the provision of information to the community in order that any proposals which might come forward on environmental issues would have wide acceptance. There are committees that have looked at the issue of environmental pollution and so on, but not very many of them have directed resources into informing the community. I notice that there is no evidence at all that the standing committee should direct itself to that course.
I think also that the Residents Rally party, again on the trendy side of politics, has avoided any mention of what the difficult issues might be that will confront that standing committee, and that is to convince people that if they want to conserve our environment they might have to leave their cars at home. How are you going to convince them that that car park over there will not be available in the future? And how are you going to convince them that they are all going to be travelling to work on buses?
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