Page 732 - Week 02 - Thursday, 12 February 2009

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The commonwealth government does deserve our thanks and our congratulations for this package. Everyone thinks so. Australians are looking down the barrel of job losses, and every one of them that is supports this package. Young apprentices wondering whether they will be able to complete their training think it is a great package. Our school principals think it is a great package. Businesses think so.

This community has the capacity to take this wonderful lifeline and deliver. Whatever the nay-sayers, the churls and the professional critics on the other side of the chamber might try to make us believe, I do hope we are allowed today to acknowledge the significance of this package for Australia.

We, the ACT government, have a record of delivery on major infrastructure that the Liberals in this town could only ever dream about delivering. The sad truth is that they do not even dream. And we will say it now, “In their last three years in government they delivered less than, I think, $100 million of capital. We delivered $282 million in the last year.” (Time expired.)

MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (11.12): I think we saw from that embarrassing performance why they have been hiding Jon during the election campaign. That is why they had to hide him. The man lacks credibility. We saw Katy a lot, but we did not see Jon. They had to hide him, and we know why they had to hide him—because of performances like that. And we have seen it all week. Jon Stanhope believes that if he says it often enough, it will be true. He can’t point to one quote, he can’t point to one statement by me, backing up his claim. And that is at the heart of this. Jon Stanhope is making it up as he goes along. He is simply making it up as he goes along. We saw that again today. He had 15 minutes, and again he could not point to it. We will go to the facts, we will go to the record and I will be giving—

Ms Gallagher: Do you support the motion, Zed?

MR SESELJA: Well, I will be—

Mr Stanhope: On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.

MR SESELJA: There is going to be no point of order, I will guarantee it.

MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Just take your seat, please. Mr Seselja, would you please sit down.

Mr Stanhope: If the leader of the Liberal Party is signalling that the opposition will support the motion, we can probably go straight to the vote now. To save the Assembly’s time, in an acknowledgement that the Liberal Party is proposing to support the motion of congratulations, we could perhaps go straight to the vote.

MR SESELJA: Can we stop the clock, Madam Deputy Speaker?

MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Yes, stop the clock, thank you.


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