Page 3150 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 August 2012
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Mr Hanson has for health in the ACT is to condemn it and to drag down every single person who works within it. I would welcome nothing more than a genuine debate about the health system with the Canberra Liberals, but it appears that they have no interest in that. It is not a debate that they want to participate in. This is their way of avoiding that debate.
We have had a couple of comments this morning about another debate—that was a debate with the Canberra Business Council at the National Press Club. I again express my disappointment that Mr Seselja put his foot down and threw a little bit of a hissy fit to say that he would not attend if I was attending as well and the Greens were going to be part of it. Well, we do have a part to play in this place, and I am really proud of my team that we have been out there putting out policies, putting out our initiatives for the election. Just in the last week we have announced two initiatives that are health related. One is improvement in—
Mr Hanson interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order, Mr Hanson! You are already on a warning.
MS HUNTER: This is a very touchy subject for the Canberra Liberals. And it is touchy because we are yet to see anything other than the closure of the walk-in clinic as a health policy. We have announced an enhancement of services to people who are suffering from lymphedema, and we have also put out our active transport plan, which is about ensuring that we have great cycling and walking facilities in this city that will keep people safe and which are also, obviously, a great benefit to their health. Again, it would be good to have a proper debate, but today what we are debating is this no-confidence motion. We have clearly looked at it; we have looked at what the tests are. It does not meet the test in the view of the Greens, and that is why we will not be supporting this no-confidence motion in the Chief Minister today.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (12.19): Mr Speaker, as has already been suggested, moving a motion of no confidence in a chief minister is not done lightly or without reason. And it certainly gives me no pleasure to be here today to speak on this issue. But it is nothing less than our obligation to do so, and it is what the community expects of the opposition and the crossbench—the proper scrutiny of government.
The Liberals’ stance on this issue is in total contrast to the role of the Greens here today, and indeed through their agreement with Labor, in respect of not supporting a motion of no confidence. A good analogy for this absolute sham of an agreement is a referee in a football match telling one team that he can do what they want and they will not be given a red card or a yellow card—or a green card, in this case. Furthermore, in addition to that, to make it even worse, apart from the referee, the two lines people and the fourth official also put on the uniform of this team, making the game farcical.
This is exactly what the Greens have done to this Assembly. Through their agreement with Labor, they have made their claim of third-party insurance for the community a total farce, a total lie. Their stance on such a serious topic as the one we are debating here today is very unfortunate. Any credibility that they may have had after four years through this Assembly has now been torn to shreds.
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