Page 6141 - Week 14 - Thursday, 9 December 2010
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that the percentage of reserve area in the ACT is large, but these areas are our city’s best asset and we must find a way to protect them in a way that is sustainable.
We also have ongoing tensions in regard to the location of developments that impact on biodiversity values on our city’s fringe, and the government has not got a strong record of accounting for this before starting developments. Molonglo is a case in point. The government failed to integrate biodiversity planning into its plans for Molonglo; it has been caught out by the federal environmental assessment process and is now having to go searching for solutions to bad planning.
The development of particular policy papers has been slow. We have waited quite some time to see the waste strategy, the energy policy, the review of the Nature Conservation Act. We need to be careful not to put all the blame for this at the door of public servants, who are obviously trying to get these policy developments out the door. The government must take responsibility, as they decide where to allocate resources. It is no use announcing a policy of great intent and not delivering on it because resources are not prioritised.
A year and a half ago the Greens introduced legislation on energy efficient hot-water systems which—(Time expired.)
MR SESELJA (Molonglo—Leader of the Opposition) (4.45): I thank Mr Hanson for bringing this forward. Let us look through some of the issues: a cover-up of an inquiry into bullying at the Canberra Hospital; repeated reports of major problems at Bimberi leading to the need for a review, with the minister even recognising serious cultural issues at Bimberi; AMC reaching capacity after two years of operation; discovery of a toxic waste dump in Molonglo; we are told today that electricity prices are to rise $7,000 in the next decade; a damning report on community respite care; a woman with a stroke waiting for days for care; buses that do not fit on the street—and that is just this week. You would think that a list like that might be for a month, a year, a few years. But that is just this week.
Perhaps that is a little bit reflective of where the Stanhope Labor government is. Just this week we have seen those kinds of serious issues. To get one of those issues in a week I think would be a bad week; but in just one week we have had the cover-up of the bullying inquiry; the need for a review of Bimberi; AMC is full; the discovery of a toxic waste dump; the damning report on community respite care; a woman with a stroke waiting for days for care; and buses that do not fit on the street.
So let us look at where the Stanhope government is and how the people of the ACT are being served and let us look at it through the prism of this year. Now we are told that the prison is full. But of course before that we had the sham opening on the eve of the election; double the national average cost per prisoner per day; budget blow-outs in construction; lack of chapel or gym; breaches of internet policy; the reduced capacity—and now it is full.
Mrs Dunne: And they still haven’t got the liquidated damages.
MR SESELJA: They are serious issues we have. The GDE, a major 2008 election promise, is already millions over budget and still not finished. And the bridge
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