Page 3006 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
MR LAMONT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I looked at the proposals in Fightback in relation to the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement and the effect that they would have on public housing in the Territory. I was then very interested to see the document The Things That Matter, because you will also recall that, as far as the policies of Alexander Downer are concerned, Mrs Carnell, once again with great glee, brought Mr Downer down off the hill to espouse the simple fact that Mrs Carnell and the local Liberals supported the policies of the Federal Opposition. I would therefore take it that they support The Things That Matter - or have you already done a backflip on that? I presume that you have already done your backflip. We might recall, Madam Speaker, the last time they had somebody down here.
It is now a matter of some concern to me that what we see with the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement variations - - -
Mr Humphries: Madam Speaker, on a point of order: This Minister is making a joke of question time. There are serious questions to be asked in this question time about important matters of public affairs in this Territory, and Mr Lamont makes frivolous jokes with telephone books and cartoons. I would ask you to bring him to order.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Lamont, I remind you of the requirement to be precise. Please proceed.
MR LAMONT: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I needed to give that background to be able to quite clearly demonstrate that the Opposition, in looking at housing policy in the ACT, has generally relied upon a rationale and a dogma that have more to do with the 1950s Australia than they do with the 1990s.
What has, in fact, been done in this town, Madam Speaker, is that the Liberal Party has consistently attacked the management of the ACT Housing Trust and called for draconian treatment of individual tenants. Considerable time is spent within the Housing Trust satisfying their random ferreting of targets. Even more time is consumed in correcting the mischievous spin placed on information provided. One can only conclude that the Liberal Party is anti public housing and anti public housing tenants.
Madam Speaker, this Government, by contrast, has a policy in relation to the social justice objectives of public housing and, indeed, has a strategy in place as far as the wider housing issues are concerned. I think it is about time that we exposed, on the Opposition benches, the difference between the wet Mrs Carnell, promising everything whenever there is a microphone placed in front of her, and what the boys stand for. That is not my term. That is Mrs Carnell's term. I think that what we need to demonstrate quite clearly is the very significant divergence that exists within the Opposition in this Territory between the public face of Mrs Carnell and the very dry, retrogressive policies adopted by the rest of her party.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .