Page 463 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 17 February 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
lower cost and greater convenience of legal ride sharing. We are fostering an economy that can withstand the savage cuts of federal Liberal governments and to create well-paid, highly skilled jobs in a range of growth sectors.
Our practical support for major employers such as the University of Canberra to compete as a global teaching and research institution will keep creating jobs for our city, generation after generation. We are creating an events calendar that is the envy of cities around the world, from the National Multicultural Festival to Enlighten to major international sporting events viewed by hundreds of millions of people around the world. We are establishing vibrant new entertainment and arts precincts, proving that you do not have to leave Canberra for a great weekend away. In fact, the evidence is suggesting that people are coming here for that experience.
Our social inclusion and equality agenda gives everyone the best opportunity to contribute to our city and the best chance of reaching their full potential. Our city leads the way in the national disability insurance scheme, and we are currently undertaking the single biggest renewal of our city’s public housing stock in the history of self-government. The fact that our National Multicultural Festival attracts such amazing crowds and generates such a fantastic atmosphere demonstrate once again just how much Canberrans thrive on diversity and new cultural experiences.
Importantly, we are also standing up for Canberrans’ jobs in the face of the most savage attack on our city’s workforce in a generation. The federal Liberal government is cutting approximately 10,000 jobs from our city’s economy. I think it is fair to observe that anywhere else in Australia facing such a massive disruption to its labour market would be the recipient of very generous federal government transition assistance packages. This clearly does not hold when the federal government is the one doing the sacking.
My government is standing up for Canberra in the face of this onslaught. I had convinced Prime Minister Abbott of no further cuts to Canberra. Unfortunately, the new Prime Minister is not honouring the commitment of Mr Abbott. I extracted that promise from the Prime Minister. I extracted that promise from former Prime Minister that there would be no more major cuts and we will hold the current Prime Minister, Mr Turnbull, to that commitment.
I have not seen anything to indicate from those opposite that they have any inclination to do the same. As I said, the opposition leader is very happy to have his photo taken next to the Prime Minister but he is less keen to endorse a number of the current Prime Minister’s public policy statements in relation to policy reform or really to talk about what the federal Liberal government is doing to this city. Indeed, we see now the agenda of the now leader of the National Party and Deputy Prime Minister in wanting to move seemingly all agencies in his portfolio out of this city.
We hear quite a bit of criticism from those opposite on the actions of this government but very little about the impact of their colleagues up on the hill, the impact of their cuts to our city’s schools and their cuts to our city’s hospitals. The fact is that they have no plan for health, apart from quietly acquiescing to their federal colleagues ripping $600 million of funding out of our hospitals, and no plan for education, apart
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video