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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (21 June) . . Page.. 2330 ..


MR SMYTH (continuing):

Often and too often, decisions are made on a political level and policy analysis is done to sustain the argument, not initiate it.

It is obvious that on this occasion Mr Hargreaves decided to take a populist approach of opposing speed cameras instead looking at the data that exists in the surrounding states. He cannot find any research to support his argument. Perhaps Mr Hargreaves who, in his embarrassment, tends to ignore these answers, could provide the Assembly with the serious analytical work that he has that proves that speed cameras do not have an impact on road safety. He is wrong again, to his own shame and to his leader's shame-and I note that his leader has also left the scene of the crime. Perhaps Mr Stanhope could grow the backbone that Mr Quinlan was talking of and force Mr Hargreaves to apologise for his "bunkum" comment.

Community housing review

MR WOOD: My question is to the minister for housing. Yesterday, in response to a question from Mr Osborne, the minister generously acknowledged that I was right, right, right in noting the decline in the number of ACT government housing properties. I thank the minister for that. I was also right yesterday in marking the inaccuracy of the government's response to the report of the Poverty Task Group which claimed that "the Minister for Housing currently receives"-I stress "currently receives"-"advice on strategic aspects of housing ... from the Housing Advisory Committee" since the minister has tacitly acknowledged that the committee has not been functioning.

My question today concerns another answer to another question, this time on the KLA review of community housing. Minister, on 27 March, you said that you expected it to be available by the end of April and that you would make it available to interested members. I am an interested member; I have made that clear. I understand that some groups now have access to this very important report, but members of the Assembly have not received a copy. Will you be making it available?

MR MOORE: I will read it and then make it available to members, if it is available. It is some time since I asked about it. The first thing I have to do is check on whether it has been finalised. When it is finalised, I shall read it and then I will make it available to members. If people in the community have seen it, I imagine what they have got is a draft version of something that affects them, being the appropriate opportunity for them to comment on it and respond. I think that is a sensible process to go through, if that is the case. I have not seen the report. I will ask about it. If it has been completed, I will read it and hand it back to members.

Mr Berry: What is that on your desk?

MR MOORE: I can assure Mr Berry, who has enjoyed interjecting so much today, that it is not sitting on my desk.

MR WOOD: I wish to ask a supplementary question, Mr Speaker. I would have thought that it would have been read and studied by this time. Minister, is it the case that the delay is because, in the process of passing government property over to Community Housing, the government has once again failed the good government test and based its actions, as the Auditor-General has said in respect of other matters, on inadequate and


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