Page 1915 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 25 June 2008
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standards, tests and reports have been analysed through the established channels. That is reasonable and achievable if the processes underway are allowed to be completed without continual and constant political interference and scaremongering from the Seselja Liberals.
We are learning that this is part of a pattern of behaviour by Mr Seselja—a pattern of style over substance, of politics over policy and, indeed, of politics over process. What is not reasonable is that those opposite seek to scare the community, and Mr Pratt’s latest message to the community does exactly that. We know that that material would have had to have been approved by Mr Seselja. It seeks to derail the project and to score cheap political points.
The Liberal opposition cannot have it both ways. It cannot seek to protect the project while it is out there, day by day, letter boxing the community with Seselja Liberal approved documents designed specifically to generate concern and ignite community agitation. I have had it raised with me many times over the past two months, including by some people whom you would name as traditionally being the Liberal Party’s strongest supporters—
Mr Pratt: It is to wake them up to your incompetence. It is to alert them to your incompetence.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Pratt!
MS GALLAGHER: how concerned they are by the games that the Liberals have chosen to play on this project. If there was something to it, I think people could understand, but when there is nothing but confirmation that government agencies were doing their job, including holding differing opinions about potential sites for a project, I think people are just left scratching their heads about what the Liberals are trying to achieve.
If we go to the details of the motion, the first paragraph refers to “repeatedly giving inconsistent testimony and testimony that is inconsistent with the written record of events relating to the data centre”. This morning, the Seselja Liberals were unable to provide any evidence to support this first allegation. Mr Seselja tabled a series of documents today with which he attempted to draw this first part of the motion together, but he failed, because none of the tabled documents proves that.
The government’s position on this has remained constant. We felt that this project provided an enormous opportunity for Canberra—a wonderful project, but one which, like every other project, needed to go through the required processes. The Chief Minister remained appropriately briefed on the project and remained at arm’s length from the day-to-day machinations that occurred between agencies and outside them, as the embryonic stages of the project were developed.
The government has been more than cooperative with the Assembly and, through it, the estimates committee—indeed, volunteering to reappear at estimates when the Chief Minister first returned to work.
Mrs Dunne: After a little tantrum!
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