Page 2394 - Week 08 - Tuesday, 28 June 2005

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


We started a hotel school, but the Liberals lived with it for six years. You want to get on to that because that has been difficult to sort out. I am sorting it out, bit by bit. The medical school at the ANU, get up us for that because we are spending money there. You promised to, your mob, but did not put it in the budget. There is quite a bit of that, a fair bit of it. In fact, the day you left government you were virtually one degree away from settling a nurses dispute. No money in the budget at all.

You have got very fertile ground. I do not know whether you are trying to undermine us or previous representatives. I am on the record: I like Brendan Smyth as the Leader of the Opposition. I am with you, mate; I will support you. We, over here, like you.

Somehow Mr Mulcahy was able to criticise the government for spending all this money that he saw on the bottom line under one set of accounts. That was the public image. “We have blown it all, as measured by accrual accounting, but really what you are doing from now on should be measured by GFS.” If anybody is having it both ways, Mr Mulcahy, it is you.

I want to now move to the stamp duty on commercial conveyancing. No state or territory intends to remove that. No state or territory intends to set up an inequitable situation where private citizens pay stamp duty on conveyancing but business does not. That has been categorically stated to the federal government. Where it will go from there, I do not know.

We are aware that Costello and Howard are looking, I think, to try to destroy the intergovernmental agreement that supports the GST—the GST that Mr Costello believes he nursed in. Don’t you love Meg Lees coming out and saying, “Mate, if it had been up to him, just him, it wouldn’t have happened.”? That is the truth of it.

Williamsdale quarry, I hope and pray that all of that does come out. If I can refer to the Stadiums Authority and the comments made there: it is quite clear what is happening there. I do not think there is anything hidden. There is support by government for the Brumbies and the Raiders. Go out there and say you do not agree with it; you are going to take it away. Can I quote you?

Mr Mulcahy: Quote me correctly.

MR QUINLAN: Do you or don’t you? That is the question.

MR SPEAKER: Order! Direct your comments through the chair. I have difficulty calling the Leader of the Opposition to order if there is a conversation going on.

MR QUINLAN: But let me say, through you, Mr Speaker, that, in relation to the Stadiums Authority, this government inherited the most convoluted of deals for the operation of the stadium. You would not believe it. And it was so typical of the little surprises that were left behind when you parted company from government.

I just want to say, in relation to the triple bottom line, we will continue to work on that. But we would appreciate some feedback. Members, I think, can find the time to get their heads around it. Through you, Mr Speaker: I do think you, Dr Foskey, have got to have


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