Page 3974 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 5 December 2007
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
probably on private premises. Without seeing them, I cannot be sure of it but that is usually Mr Pratt’s form.
Mr Pratt: That is true.
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Pratt intervenes, interjects, and says it is true. Mr Pratt is saying that I am failing in my duty because I am not removing graffiti from private land.
Mr Pratt: You didn’t.
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Pratt, it might be best if you cease interjecting.
MR HARGREAVES: From private buildings. It is not the government’s responsibility.
Mr Pratt talks about lack of consultation. On the one hand he accuses me of not having consultation processes with Tharwa and on the other hand he says, “But you had those two public meetings.” He forgets the important meeting that I went to. He forgets the meeting that I had with the Rural Lessees Association in that area when they brought the question to me. He ignores the fact that I have had three or four meetings in my office with people on the very same subject. When it comes to the statue, he says that there was no consultation. He has asked me a question in this place about it and I have indicated to him the consultation that went on with the multicultural community.
Mr Pratt: That’s not what they say.
MR HARGREAVES: Mr Pratt chuckles in his cuffs. I had extensive consultation on that particular issue. I had no conversations whatever with any officer of the Australian Labor Party who is not an elected member of this place.
What we are seeing here from Mr Pratt, in terms of consultation, is an absolute nonsense. He is accusing me of “lack of consultation, particularly over”; that means that in general I do not do consultation that well. I reckon a dozen ministerial forums on multicultural affairs, six more ministerial forums on housing issues, a multicultural summit attended by 450 people—and a housing summit which was so successful in its delivery to the people of the ACT that Kevin Rudd and Tanya Plibersek copied the format and it swept John Howard out of the—it didn’t sweep him out of the Lodge; he was not in it. What happened? It is the only eviction of someone in public housing about which I am proud. He talks about my failures on housing!
Members interjecting—
MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order!
MR HARGREAVES: He talks about my failure in housing. We have reduced the waiting list in housing; we have improved the infrastructure; we have improved the fabric of the buildings; we have introduced energy efficiency ratings. And on top of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .