Page 40 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 10 February 2015
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I was disappointed with the mixed messages from the ACT government over this time, which was encouraging Canberrans to stay in town over the Christmas break to participate in the international sporting events that the city was hosting—
well done, Chief Minister—
and yet on the other hand was undertaking these roadworks at the time because everybody is away over January.
Are we all here? Are we all away? Should we stay or should we go?
The only thing that is consistent here is the bad judgement of a minister who is not up to the job. That is why this motion should be supported today. What has to happen for this minister to go? Seriously, how bad does it have to get? How poor does her judgement have to be? How appalling do the outcomes have to be before this minister goes?
You only have to go through the letters that we have received. I will keep sending you the letters as I get them. I do not care what they turn up. You find it funny and amusing. Again, that is the minister’s poor judgement. It is an insult to the constituents who write to us as MLAs that, when we forward them on, somehow that is wrong.
Let me quote from another email: “Even more disturbing is the fact of how susceptible valley residents are if such a disaster as bushfires could close either of the two access roads to the area.” Now we are having a discussion about what might happen there.
Again, it is about forward planning, if you are making significant changes. You are putting a new emergency services facility in place. I do not think any of us doubt the location, but it is interesting that it was not based on fact. I asked a question at the community council. I said: “Didn’t you have the traffic numbers? Weren’t you aware of what difference the speeds on those roads would make to a response vehicle?” The answer was, “No.” They actually did not have the road data to support the location.
I also asked: “Were all the ministers briefed on this? Were the planning minister, the roads minister, the TAMS minister and the ESA minister briefed?” Apparently, yes, they all were briefed. It would be interesting to have all the ministers stand up and say, “Yes, we were briefed, and, yes, we accepted it because we thought it was a good idea.” The malaise goes a bit deeper than just the minister, Ms Burch, but the lack of judgement from that minister is extraordinary.
There are a number of emails here, including some that call for the minister’s head. Here is another email: “If a traffic debacle can occur because of a poor decision about a partial or full closure to install a sewerage pipe, how can the ACT Labor/Green coalition be taken seriously to deliver on light rail, which no-one even wants.”
This minister, because of her poor judgement, should go. (Time expired.)
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