Page 3760 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 27 August 2008

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always start, of course, with Bruce Stadium, the only bit of infrastructure they got out of the ground; a budget of $12 million; delivered, I think, at $84 million. And they broke the law along the way. Their capital program was not only committed to building things; it was also committed to taking things down. Of course we will hurry past the hospital implosion. We will hurry past the Liberal Party’s commitment of capital in relation to that.

The memory fades, but there are those other wonderful programs: the futsal slab, used once; the Impulse hangar at the airport, never used. At least the futsal slab was used once. The Impulse hangar, $10 million, was never used. (Time expired.)

Schools—closures

MRS DUNNE: I extend my thanks to the crossbenchers for their forbearance in allowing me to ask this question now. My question is to the Chief Minister and relates to school closures. In 2006, Chief Minister, a Labor member for Ginninderra told constituents that, after the announcement of the towards 2020 proposal, you, as Chief Minister, personally pushed for Mt Rogers community school to remain open and for Flynn primary school to close. Do you think it appropriate, Chief Minister, that you played favourites in this way?

MR STANHOPE: I did not. That claim is false.

MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mrs Dunne.

MRS DUNNE: Chief Minister, how will the people of Flynn ever be able to trust you after your treatment of them in this case?

MR STANHOPE: I have just responded to the question by asserting that the claim is false, and it is. I made no such differentiation. The decisions at the end of the day were made by cabinet. Why would I play favourites between Mt Rogers and Flynn? Why would I do that? Why would I intervene and play favourites between one school and another? The claim is false.

Mrs Dunne asked me why people should trust me. I will just go back to the most recent issue in relation to trust that this Assembly has been confronted by, and that is the trust of a commitment to grant a pair yesterday to the Chief Minister of the ACT, the leader of the government, for the time being—namely, me. That is a question of trust. The member asked me about the capacity to trust me. Let us go back to the most recent of issues in relation to the question of trust. I believe it was Mrs Dunne herself—the asker of this particular question—who breached the trust less than 24 hours ago. On government business, as the head of government, as the Chief Minister, as guest of honour, I was granted a pair—

Mr Mulcahy: On a point of order, Mr Speaker, under standing order 118 (a), there is a requirement that answers to questions be concise and be confined to the subject matter of the question. I do not think one word defines the entire subject matter of the question.

MR SPEAKER: Mrs Dunne raised the issue of trust, Mr Mulcahy.


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