Page 1219 - Week 04 - Thursday, 17 March 2005
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asked me. I am inviting him. I have said it more than once in this place, and I mean that, but he will not do that. The letter in the Canberra Times continues:
Many people did not apply for support because they did not find out about the ISPs, there are culture or language barriers, they were younger than 16, or they had personal reasons, such as privacy issues …
People with disabilities who apply for an ISP are forced into “competitive misery”.
Mr Hargreaves had a go, I think, at Dr Foskey when she used those words. This is coming from the community, the people who are on the front line, suffering. This minister cannot be so glib any more. Laid back is not good enough. He needs to be up front and get off his hands and work with the community and me. I do not know that I can do much, but I can certainly try to help, if the minister will allow me. The letter concludes:
One of the Labor Party’s pre-election commitments was to improve government and community responses to people with disabilities, their families and carers.
We are waiting.
Ulysses motorcycle club
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (5.50): I rise today to bring to members’ attention an issue raised in the Assembly yesterday that relates to me. Mr Pratt was quoted in Hansard as referring to “… Mr Gentleman’s similar, head in the sand, joyful and sanitised celebration of the Ulysses motorcycle club weekend here in the ACT without a dot of a mention that the Ulysses weekend had been under some threat, quite serious sort of intimidation because the Rebels were behaving with impunity in this town.”
My eyewitness account of the state of events is as follows: on Saturday morning, I joined with over 5,000 motorcyclists at Anzac Parade for the Ulysses grand parade—5,000 motorcyclists, and not one Rebel. After all the motorcyclists gathered, we headed off along Anzac Parade and then turned into Limestone Avenue. As we rode along Limestone Avenue, all of the 5,000 motorcyclists were greeted by hundreds of Canberra individuals and children. They cheered and clapped as we rode by—5,000 motorcyclists, and not one Rebel. We then followed on to Majura Avenue. Yet again we were greeted by hundreds of Canberra individuals and children. They clapped and cheered as we rode by—5,000 motorcyclists, and not one Rebel.
With the focus of my eyewitness account being that of the grand parade and the AGM dinner, I am happy to note, yet again, that there was not one Rebel at either of these events. There were, however, a record number of motorcyclists at these events—over 5,000, to be correct, the highest number of attendees at any Ulysses AGM since its inception some 30 years ago.
As we rode as a group of 5,000 motorcyclists along the suburban streets that had been allocated by the AFP for our passage, hundreds of members of the community were waving and clapping and cheering. But, yet again, not one Rebel. We then took up residence at the Dickson playing fields for the welcome speeches. There was hardly enough room for all of the attendees, but I could see no Rebels around. There were
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