Page 1466 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 14 May 2014
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MS GALLAGHER: I thank Ms Porter for the question. In amongst all of the bad news for the ACT—and you had to search pretty hard to find anywhere where you could say it was at least a reasonable or good outcome—we do agree that maintaining DSS in Tuggeranong is a good outcome. But let us not pretend it is something new. They are maintaining their presence in Tuggeranong. That is what this has come down to. With the removal of hundreds of millions of dollars from our economy through lost jobs, Mr Abbott would like us to be thankful that DSS is staying where they are, probably with fewer people. But that is what we have got to go up to him and say, “Thank you so much for that. That’s a good outcome.” But they are staying. It is maintaining what they do.
Mr Hanson: Where was this passion when Rudd cut the jobs?
MS GALLAGHER: I can tell you what: there was nothing like that happened to this city under a Labor government—nothing like it, absolutely nothing like it.
We have got every Liberal premier out there screaming from the rooftops today, and Jeremy Hanson cannot even be bothered coming into the chamber until he gets personally offended and has to jump to his feet. How ridiculous is that! Your job is not unsafe too, is it, Jeremy? We hear the talk, and your absence this morning has played right into that. The single biggest issue hitting this town, and you are missing in action, totally missing in action.
There is a small increase in black spot national partnership funding to the ACT, I think of the order of $3 million, and we are hopeful that in relation to the research fund, if it passes through the Senate and the House of Reps as part of the budget, the ACT would be well placed to access some of the funding associated with that, particularly with the ANU. (Time expired.)
Environment—biodiversity offsets policy
MS LAWDER: My question is to the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services.
Minister, on 7 May you indicated that TAMS is operating in line with the commonwealth criteria for offsets. These criteria include the requirement for annual reports and offset management plans to be available to the public. In accordance with the conditions set for Ngunnawal 2C, an offset site approved in March 2011 and managed by your directorate, an annual compliance report should be publicly available each year by 30 April. Minister, is the report which was due no later than 30 April 2014 available? If so, when and how was this made available to the public?
MR RATTENBURY: What I can let Ms Lawder know is that just this morning I have signed off on a number of detailed responses to the questions that I took on notice last week that go to some of the detail that she has just asked me for. In regard to Ngunnawal 2C, I will also take that on notice and get some detailed advice for Ms Lawder.
MADAM SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Ms Lawder.
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