Page 203 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 8 December 2004
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Stand down or resign. I don’t care which.
I did some simple math—your expenditure of taxpayers’ funds in actions before a court tasked with ascertaining the truth is about $12,000 for every household affected by the fires. Remember, this court cannot lay criminal charges or award civil damages.
He finishes:
This waste, to protect your government, is an insult to those lives destroyed and damaged on January 18.
He says it all.
DR FOSKEY (Molonglo) (5.24): I am not supporting this motion. While I acknowledge that the Liberal members may feel that they have legitimate grounds for supporting Mr Stefaniak’s motion, I regret that nearly the whole of this sitting day has been given over to discussing this and Mr Stefaniak’s earlier motion. I understand that Mrs Burke’s and other opposition members’ statements reflect some of the concern out there in the community, but I am also aware that it is quite easy to mix up that concern with this matter. I think they are very separate things and by confusing them I do not think we are doing a service to the community affected by the fire.
It can feel frustrating that we cannot inquire into Mr Stanhope’s reasons for joining this action, due to the sub judice rule, but we do at least know that those reasons will be given an appropriate airing in the Supreme Court. Since the motion of no confidence in the Attorney-General has such serious consequences, we need to be absolutely confident that there are good reasons for making such a claim—that is, that the Attorney-General is acting outside his powers.
Another reason for the frustration of the opposition—and of course I feel it myself—is the majority government. I think we are coming to terms with this. It inevitably sets up frustrations—I think I have used that word a few times today—for me and for the opposition, because at the moment we are looking at four years of gags and failed motions. That will be the case if we keep working the way we are. I am not sure how we are going to use this period constructively but I am pretty sure that we are going to have to find a way. I am not really looking forward to four years of name calling from both sides or to time wasting. We had a lot of business today that will not be discussed; it will be put off until February and that will mean that we will put other things off. I very much hope that we can get this matter out of the way and find ways to work more constructively in the Assembly.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra)(5.27): Dr Foskey has said that this is time wasting. But I ask you, Mr Speaker, to consider what is the most important issue that has confronted the people of the ACT in the past 50 years. I would submit to you that that was the disaster of the January 2003 bushfires. And what has happened since then has been a litany of cover-ups by the government and a litany of actions to protect their rear at every opportunity.
MR QUINLAN: What cover-up was that?
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