Page 2667 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 10 August 2016
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Mr Doszpot, I am making a ruling and the ruling is that I remind you to refer to people by their correct title.
MR DOSZPOT: I withdraw “teflon” from the description I gave of the Chief Minister.
MADAM DEPUTY SPEAKER: Thank you Mr Doszpot.
MR DOSZPOT: But the Chief Minister’s reputation is wearing thin. Coupled with the community’s recognition that there is something wrong with this government there is an aroma, and it is not pleasant. A lot of the current community issues confronting this jaded government relate to their inability to consult the community and their arrogance.
Only recently we had the minister re-announce the 2012 election promise for a pool in the Weston area. Once again this is yet another example of this government’s refusal to consult the community. The Canberra Times in July quoted the head coach of the Canberra Diving Academy who said she believed that the government was ignoring their concerns:
But Ms Widdup believes the government has ignored the aquatic community, by not building diving boards at the Gungahlin Leisure centre in 2014, announcing the Olympic Pool will be replaced with a new sports stadium within a decade and backflipping on plans to build a diving pool as part of the City to the Lake project.
It would seem fairly straightforward that when you want to build an aquatic centre you would consult the aquatic community about what their needs are but apparently even that simple concept has escaped this government.
Time prevents me listing all the failures of the Labor government in this area: the mess that was the rebuilding of Woden park, the leaking Olympic pool that is continually being shut down for repairs, the state of our grounds. My motion has again highlighted the costs and the condition of ACT sportsgrounds and I am calling on this government to address the deteriorating conditions in a number of our local ovals and, as per my motion, commit to delivering real support to local clubs and local teams.
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Minister for Housing, Community Services and Social Inclusion, Minister for Multicultural and Youth Affairs, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (5.26): I thank Mr Doszpot for bringing the motion on today. Unlike the Canberra Liberals talking Canberra down, as per usual, I will be talking about what a great place Canberra is to live in and what fantastic sports facilities we have here in the ACT.
To begin, I believe I have been misrepresented by Mr Doszpot. The question that came to me in estimates was from Mr Smyth. I wonder whether Mr Smyth has shared the response that I provided to Mr Doszpot on his question. To confirm, and to help Mr Doszpot understand, there have been no cuts to staff and no cuts to services or
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video