Page 984 - Week 04 - Thursday, 3 May 2007
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Sport—Canberra Stadium
Belconnen to Civic busway
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (6.07): I would like to spend a little time to review the week. I am glad that Mr Barr produced a perfect segue for me by his lengthy exposition on the upcoming rugby league and rugby union matches. The end of last week was a sad time for ACT rugby codes when the Chief Minister stood on the hallowed turf of Canberra Stadium, announced the unveiling of the Gregan-Larkham stand and extolled the virtues of the homegrown talents of George Gregan and Steve Larkham as great exponents of the football code known as rugby league. That was a bit of an embarrassment in front of 20,000-odd people, all of whom were rugby union aficionados.
Mr Barr: It was a slip of the tongue; he quickly corrected it, Mrs Dunne.
MRS DUNNE: Yes, of course he did, but it was a mistake that should not have been made and it went down very badly. I am sure that Mr Barr was standing beside the Chief Minister on the hallowed ground. I was too far away to see the expression on Mr Barr’s face—I had paid for my tickets—but I could imagine the cringing at the time.
Mr Barr: I hope I never see you with a free ticket to a Brumbies or Raiders game. You get them from time to time.
MRS DUNNE: You get them from time to time. We are also prepared to pay testament—
Mr Pratt: Unless she is wearing the Brumbies horse suit.
Mr Barr: She was there in disguise?
MRS DUNNE: That’s a thought. I think that will have to be in another lifetime.
Mr Barr: Brumby Jack is a bit taller.
MRS DUNNE: That is right, and he does better handstands than I do. But it is a bit of a shame.
We have had a number of what might be called Kim Beasley moments from the Chief Minister over the last little while, especially when it comes to sporting identities. We had Ted Woodbridge—spoken about at length yesterday. I think that the Chief Minister needs to do something. There was obviously something in the water for the people who worked in the Beasley office. For those who follow Mr Beasley into public office, there seem to be a few gaps, with people being somewhat mistaken about people and elements of national culture.
Another confusion which has not been sorted out concerns the busway—the off again, on again busway. Mr Stanhope says that the busway had not been killed, but in the Canberra Times Mr Hargreaves said that it was killed. He told me in the car park that
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