Page 2128 - Week 06 - Thursday, 8 June 2017
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The government, which forever claims to be standing up for the most vulnerable, shows no real interest in tenants’ welfare. It is moving public housing residents out of the Northbourne corridor and into locations away from employment opportunities and away from basic services. They are creating transport disadvantage for vulnerable people.
The born to rule mentality that this government has developed means that anything goes and everything is okay. Labor think that they can run the territory free of checks and balances, without morals and ethics and in cahoots with the unions.
There are serious probity issues with the government. The Greens have been in coalition and in cabinet for five years now, yet the actual or perceived malfeasance continues. The Greens are not the third-party insurers they claim to be. They are in coalition and they have been all too compliant to their masters. The ACT has a problem. At best it is an integrity issue, and at worst it is corruption.
We all know that there are some people who have done very well out of this government, be it particular lobbyists, particular developers or particular consultants along the way. However, they have only gained this success and this access because the government has given them preference or has shut the door on others.
There are a number of instances that stand out. Firstly, as has been reported, the Tradies sold the CFMEU headquarters to the government for $3.9 million, just one week after Andrew Barr became Chief Minster. Contracts were exchanged on 16 December and settlement on the multimillion dollar purchase happened just three days later. Who else in Canberra can arrange a three-day settlement on a multimillion dollar property purchase? Now the government is leasing the building back to the CFMEU for $1 per year. This is a disgrace. Anywhere else this would be called out as being corrupt.
In contrast, the government charges organisations $2,500 per day to hire the Albert Hall. The Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services list a rental expense of $41,000 in their annual report. Somehow it is okay for the Labor government to charge a migrant support charity tens of thousands of dollars, or a community group two grand a day for the Albert Hall, but their mates in the union get a big building in Dickson for $1 a year. And that is on top of $4 million cash!
Secondly, I agree with the well-known letter writer, Mr J Stanhope of Bruce, about Mr Barr’s petulance and his vindictiveness regarding clubs. Mr Barr and his colleagues have no credibility when it comes to gaming policy. As the owner and controller of 489 poker machines, the Labor movement is conflicted. And it uses its 1973 Foundation to turn over the pokie cash through Sydney property investments. Their regulation of an industry in which they are so heavily invested is a rort.
Further to this, let us not forget that the Labor Club also spent $528,000 last year buying even more poker machines from another club in Canberra. This does not sound like a party that wants to divest itself of gaming revenue. How can you make
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video