Page 2085 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 May 2009

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MR STANHOPE: It does depend. That is the position of the Leader of the Opposition. Actually, there is a range of other views amongst the other members. It is quite a feather, I think, in the cap of Mr Seselja, consistent with of course—and this goes to the question I have been asked—the bizarre slash and burn plan that Mr Seselja took to the last election, of course a slash and burn policy that was roundly rejected by the people of the ACT—

MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Stanhope! The question was about your budget.

MR STANHOPE: No, it was not.

MR SPEAKER: Or about Ms Gallagher’s budget.

MR STANHOPE: No, it was not. It was about alternatives, Mr Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: The question was: are there any cuts to services in the budget?

MR STANHOPE: No, it was not.

MR SPEAKER: Take your seat, Mr Stanhope. Ms Porter, will you read me the question again, please?

MS PORTER: Are you aware of any proposals to cut services in the ACT budget and what is the government’s response?

Mr Hanson: You’re a liar.

MS PORTER: I did not say which particular budget.

Mr Stanhope: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. The Facebook king just called me a liar. I ask that he withdraw.

Mr Hanson: Mr Speaker, I withdraw that comment.

MR SPEAKER: Mr Stanhope, Ms Porter has clearly ingeniously worded her question, so I suggest you continue.

MR STANHOPE: It is a feather, I think, in Mr Seselja’s cap, as I say consistent with the bizarre slash and burn plan that he took to the electorate last October and which, of course, was roundly rejected by the people of Canberra on that occasion. Mr Seselja, as we know, is the second least successful Leader of the Opposition in the history of self-government, and I am sure this is as a result of that bizarre slash and burn and sack public servants proposal that he took to the election.

We do need to recall those promises. He was asked this by Mr Solly this morning and could not quite recall what the promises were. Let us just go to some of those cuts: a $1.4 million cut to shopping centre upgrades; a $4.5 million cut to playground and park upgrades. These are the savings that have been urged on us by the Liberal Party:


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