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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 4521 ..

Liberal Party Emblem

MR BERRY (6.03): Mr Speaker, I would like to read onto the record a brilliant letter that appeared in the Canberra Times a couple of days ago. It is headed "A Good Metaphor After All". It reads:

It is good to see that our elected leaders are showing the depth to which they know their subject. For example, Gary Humphries, a "corroboree frog man" (nothing to do with the yellow stripes, of course), stated that the corroboree frog would be a good emblem for the Liberal Party as it "hops to it, and gets the job done".

... As Mr Humphries should be aware when giving his valuable endorsement, a little research wouldn't go astray. Unfortunately (for Mr Humphries, not the beautiful amphibian) the corroboree frog crawls rather than hops, is a cryptic species that prefers to do things hidden away from the gaze of the public, makes subtle noises that hint at its activity, and lives in a rather frosty habitat.

Perhaps it is a good metaphor for the local Government after all.

Thanks to Mr McElhinney. I think that was well worth reading onto the record.

Volunteers Day : Gungahlin - Sports Facilities

MR DE DOMENICO (Minister for Urban Services) (6.04): To take the debate back to a serious and important note, as Mr Stefaniak said, members would be aware that today is International Volunteers Day, and at such a time we recognise the wonderful efforts of those volunteers who work for various community organisations throughout our society. Volunteers serve a very important purpose, not only in Canberra but throughout all communities, either in helping those less fortunate than others or in assisting the elderly. Their efforts reflect the best parts of human nature.

I am pleased to say that this Government fully appreciates the work of volunteers, and today the Government announced a proposal that will allow free parking in government-owned car parking areas for volunteers for various community organisations throughout Canberra. We did not crawl to do that; we hopped right in and did it, unlike our predecessors, who had five years and did not do it. The proposal is similar to another proposal the Government recently announced which extends parking arrangements for people with disabilities. Once legislation is in place early next year, holders of disabled labels will be entitled to park free of charge for two hours at meters and in voucher car parks where the posted time is 30 minutes or less, and free of charge for an unlimited time if the posted time is greater than 30 minutes. That applies in time-limited areas as well. The proposed changes will extend these parking initiatives to volunteers, so that the holders of volunteer labels will be able to park free of charge for two hours at meters, voucher car parks and where the posted time is less than two hours. I expect that the new arrangements will take effect from March next year.

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