Page 2892 - Week 10 - Tuesday, 16 October 2007
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MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Acting Minister for Health and Acting Minister for Disability, Housing and Community Services) (10.46): Mr Speaker, such is the incompetence of those opposite that for 15 minutes we have heard from the Leader of the Opposition a tirade on what he perceives is the government’s shortcomings, but not a single announcement or initiative about what the Liberals would do if they were in government. After over four years in opposition, where are their policies, Mr Speaker?
Members interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order! Mr Corbell, resume your seat. Everybody on the government side sat silently while Mr Stefaniak gave his speech. I insist that the interjections discontinue. I call Mr Corbell.
MR CORBELL: Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course, it is a sore point for the members of the opposition, because they know that they have squandered the opportunity of opposition. They have squandered the time available to them in opposition to work out what it is they stand for, what it is they want to try and achieve, and what is their credible program to take the territory forward. In fact, the reality is they have no program, they have no ideas, and they have squandered the time available to them in opposition to put forward alternatives. Instead, what we have seen from the opposition is a party riven by internal dissent, a party which has changed leaders twice in the last four years a party that would seek to change leaders again, if Mr Mulcahy is ever able to break the impasse, and a party with members who spend more time fighting amongst themselves than they spend on focusing on the interests of Canberrans.
Mr Speaker, in contrast to the bickering, divided and incompetence of those opposite, this government is taking the territory forward. We welcome the opportunity in this motion today to outline where it is that the government is taking the hard decisions and is placing our city in a strong position to move forward and to face the challenges that our community faces. Only earlier this year the government delivered its sixth consecutive surplus—its sixth consecutive budget surplus. That is a strong result by any means compared with the very poor management of those opposite when they were in government. But, more important than the surplus is where it is being spent and what it is being invested in to improve services and improve facilities for the people of Canberra.
The operating surplus is not just being squirreled away; the operating surplus is funding services in health, education, roads, housing, climate change, planning, mental health, supporting young people and supporting children. That is our commitment as a government. Mr Speaker, our record level of investing in schools continues, with over $350 million being invested in school infrastructure between 2006-07 and 2010-11. That includes, of course, $60 million for the new secondary college in Gungahlin, something desperately needed in the Gungahlin community; an additional $50 million to build the new P-10 school in Tuggeranong; as well as the funding already committed to build a similar facility in west Belconnen.
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