Page 805 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 9 April 2014
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Mr Barr: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
MR SMYTH: You know Mr Barr is sensitive when he goes for the personal slight. He goes there straight, he goes there fast and he goes straight to the bottom when he is in trouble.
Mr Barr: I hope you pay as much attention to interjections on the other side too, Madam Speaker.
MR SMYTH: Not even Kate Lundy on that day could back Mr Barr up because she said––
MADAM SPEAKER: I am sorry, Mr Smyth. Could you stop the clock, please? That is entirely and utterly disorderly, Mr Barr. I have a very weather ear for those sorts of interjections. As I have said on a number of occasions, interjections on the policy and on the issues are fair game, but I will not tolerate interjections and comments in this place that go to people’s character. Keep it in the policy square, not in the character square. If you make any more interjections like that, you are out of here without warning, because that is entirely disorderly, Mr Barr.
Mr Barr: If that is the standard you are setting, Madam Speaker, then it applies to both sides.
MADAM SPEAKER: Do you really want to march today? I have made my position very clear. One more interjection like that—I am warning you—and one more challenge to my rulings or snide comments on my ruling will get you marched from here.
MR SMYTH: It is interesting when you look at Mr Corbell’s defence, which was, “We’ve got a stimulus package.” “We’ve put in a priority projects bill”—the admission of failure of the planning system and the government’s delivery. You then look at Mr Corbell’s other defence, which is, of course, “We’ve got a stimulus package.” Let us see what Ms Gallagher said about her stimulus package: “I am being honest. We are trying to provide some confidence and support to areas that are under pressure.” She continued:
We hope that it does stimulate some activity. But we are not standing on the roof tops saying that it is going to solve everybody’s problems or protect the economy from the decisions the commonwealth might take.
We are being realistic about our role. That is why in the context of everything I say I call us a small but significant player. We hope that it does stimulate the building and construction industry. That is what it is targeted to do but I am not sitting here saying how many jobs it will create, how much it will deliver, because I think that is very, very hard to do.
That is very hard to do because you have not done the work, and you have not looked at the very narrow targeting that you have put in place. I suspect most people will not get much benefit from the stimulus package. That is why fees, fines, charges and taxes paid by the industry, in paragraph (1)(a) of Mr Coe’s motion, are very important.
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