Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 7 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 2356 ..

MR HARGREAVES

They didn't know, Mr Speaker, that from 5.30 pm until 8.30 the next morning pay-parking didn't apply. They didn't know for example, Mr Speaker-and this was particularly salient to them and they actually thought, "Oh, fantastic"-that on a Friday night at half past 5 the pay-parking regime ceased and commenced again at 8.30 on Monday morning. That meant that the majority of students at that college that had part-time jobs, casual jobs over the weekend, Friday night, Saturday and Sunday were not burdened by a pay-parking regime.

Mr Speaker, I invite those people who are spouting thoughts on this to go down and have a current look at the car parking in that particular area. I don't think for a moment that too many members across the chamber have actually been down there.

A casual observer would find that the car parks down there are full most of the day. The ones that you call a free car park all day are not filled, Mr Speaker, with students' cars; they're filled with commuters' cars. If you go in and out, the chances of getting a space are pretty, pretty slim.

Mr Speaker, the fact is that, when I spoke to these students and informed them of those two particular issues, it changed the view of some of them. I undertook to take their concerns back to the government and further examine the issue. They were grateful for that. These sorts of issues will plague governments of all persuasions from time to time. We do need, as I said before, to find a solution to explain to people why governments come out with that, and that will occur.

Mr Speaker, I now turn to the fetish, obsession, that those opposite have with the bushfire victims in Duffy. My heart goes out to all the people in Duffy, Chapman, and Holder. Indeed, Mr Speaker, as members will know, my father lives in Duffy. The house next door to him went up. I do know how they feel. It isn't far from the shops either; so I know all about that.

But I'm starting to get heartily sick of people suggesting that, through the sin of omission, the Weston Creek area was the only area that got savaged by the fire, because it isn't. I never hear from those people opposite about the pain and destruction that were visited upon the Colquhoun Street part of Kambah or the Allchin Circuit part of Kambah.

I hear bleatings, screamings, and mutterings about putting up all manner of memorials. Where? In Weston. I don't have a problem with putting them up in Weston, but I'll be damned, Mr Speaker, if I'm going to sit idly by and just see Kambah forgotten altogether. It just ain't going to happen, Mr Speaker.

We heard it again tonight. Did Mr Cornwell talk about the other parts of town that got savaged by the fire? No. There are only three reasons for this. One is that he could be a very besotted member from Molonglo, in which case I congratulate him. The other one could be that he thinks that that's the only place the fire went, in which case I don't congratulate him. The other one could be that he's just being cute about it, and I really don't think that's the case. But I put on the record that, if that is so, I'm not happy with that either.

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .