Page 3064 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 11 September 1990
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wishes. Its major requirement has been to sell those sites.
Mr Duby: Rubbish!
MR WOOD: Well, you said it a moment ago, Mr Duby. You said that there would be $8m from the sale of school sites. Let me tell the Government that no school site will be sold; no school site can be sold. There is action now in place that will make it absolutely hopeless for you to try to sell any school site. This is something I am very pleased to comment on.
First of all, the proposal by the Labor Party to put a substantial betterment tax, or a surcharge, if you like, on any valuation of a school site has had a response that we sought. We sought to make it clear to any would-be developers that if they proposed to take up a site they would be severely dealt with in terms of a financial imposition. It has deterred them. The response we have had from developers is a clear enough indication that they do not want to take up those school sites. We have achieved what we wanted.
Secondly, as of yesterday, certain building trade unions have indicated that they will not allow work to proceed on those sites. That also is a most effective means of ensuring that you cannot sell one of those sites. Not only are your so-called recurrent savings down the tube, but also there is no way in the world that you will be able to achieve your prime objective of realising the capital gains from the sale of those sites.
I would have thought that some greater dedication to the concepts of education that this city is so proud of would have led you along a more sensible path. You are already doomed to failure in these proposals of yours. And the sooner the members of the Residents Rally can come into this chamber - as they will have the opportunity to do tomorrow - and vote to defer these matters, the better it will be for this city and for our schools. We wait for Mr Jensen, Mr Collaery and Dr Kinloch to come in.
Hospitals
MR BERRY (4.03): I rise to speak on an issue of concern. I do so in the wake of having won a debate at the ANU in relation to the hospitals matter - and I must say that that victory was an overwhelming, hands-down win. It was not a race, but it was a shame that my opponents just were not up to the pace - nor were their arguments anywhere within a bull's roar of the arguments that were put by the members in my team.
I must say that I was overjoyed with having won that debate with such a large majority from the judges. It concerned
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