Page 4912 - Week 11 - Thursday, 21 October 2010

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over the last 20 or 30 years. None of those have been Green governments. They have been Liberal or Labor governments in all those states. The increase reflects the failure to invest in the necessary electricity infrastructure that this country needs. And now this generation is having to pay for it. That is what has driven a lot of the electricity price increase. As I have just indicated from the commissioner’s press releases, there have been a number of other factors—the drought, distribution costs and others.

When Mr Seselja stands here and says that there has been a 45 per cent increase in the price of electricity, he is somehow trying to insinuate that the great greenhouse conspiracy has driven up the price and it is going to be like this again in the future. It is simply not true. I believe it is a deceitful argument and I think it is unhelpful to debate it in this place as we try to deal with very serious issues.

It is going to be difficult and challenging to deliver a 40 per cent target. I do not think anybody has denied that. But we have an obligation, a moral obligation, to try to set this city up for the future so that our children are living in a city which is moving towards being a low carbon city because that is the pathway that this planet is heading down and we, in the ACT, have to take our steps as well. (Time expired.)

MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.34): The only person in this place who makes deceitful arguments is Mr Corbell. The argument that he makes today does not hold water. The problem for Mr Corbell is that—and let us face it—in the past he has been found to have persistently and wilfully misled the Assembly on a number of issues. And we see it continuing today. He cannot make the case.

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Mr Hargreaves): Mr Smyth, can I ask you to be really careful about that, please? I know you will be. I am just asking you to be really careful.

MR SMYTH: Which bit, Mr Speaker?

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: You say “repeatedly making wilful and misleading comments”.

MR SMYTH: That is a quote from the Hansard.

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: I am just asking you to be a bit careful so that we do not end up interrupting the debate to have another—

MR SMYTH: Can I not quote from Hansard?

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Attribution would be good. It is easy for me.

MR SMYTH: It is from Hansard, 24 June 2004.

MR ASSISTANT SPEAKER: Thank you.

MR SMYTH: It is in the Hansard. And this is the problem. Mr Corbell cannot make the argument. He just asserts. As he finished the in-principle debate, he jumped up and slammed me and said, “You are wrong. This is incredibly wrong.” But I want to


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