Page 796 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
warrants a board of inquiry. It is appropriate that an independent person or people are given the opportunity and the flexibility to objectively look at all these issues and make recommendations about how to improve the sector for everyone’s benefit.
This inquiry is not about political grandstanding or scoring runs. It is about getting a person or people outside of politics and the government to have an objective look at how the sector can be improved. The opposition hopes that the government will see this as a fresh opportunity to reconsider their use of some of the levers which they control and reset the parameters through recommendations made by the board of inquiry.
The final part of the motion is a requirement that the Chief Minister and opposition leader both agree to the appointment of the board, that being the inquirer or the inquirers. I think that this is important so that the integrity of the board and its findings are sound. We have similar requirements in other appointments, especially those who are officers of the Assembly, and the process to date has worked relatively smoothly. Therefore, I do not see this agreement as being a stumbling block for any appointment.
When the ACT economy is going well, the construction sector booms. When the construction sector is going well, the ACT economy booms. Therefore, we have a duty to all to make sure that our market is conducive to investment. I call on all members of the government to give their support to the construction sector, including the tens of thousands of families who directly depend on the industry for their livelihood. I call on them to support this motion, which requests an objective inquiry into what is probably Canberra’s most important private sector industry.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for Workplace Safety and Industrial Relations and Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development) (10.12): The government will not be supporting this motion today. It is not the job of boards of inquiry to undertake research and policy development work for Mr Coe. I would have thought that after an extended period of time in opposition the Liberals would have some sort of coherent planning and development policy framework in which to advance proposals to the Canberra community. Instead they seem to believe it should be funded by the taxpayer—for a board of inquiry to undertake their policy development work.
This proposal is one of significant overreach. First of all, it ignores a broad range of things and inquiries already conducted by this government. Mr Coe seems to think we need to inquire into a number of these things for a second or a third time. Further, the proposals fail to highlight and fail to recognise the proactive and constructive steps the government has taken to address the need for further support to the construction and development sector at a time when our economy is going through a significant downturn.
Perhaps most strikingly of all is that if Mr Coe is so concerned about all the factors impacting on the development sector in the ACT, why do his proposed terms of reference not refer to the most devastating impact on confidence in the construction sector in the ACT, which is the massive level of job losses in the commonwealth
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video