Page 2242 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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Madam Speaker, the outpouring of love and sadness is testament to how widely Steve’s loss is being felt. I draw on some Facebook comments today, which were extraordinary—there were hundreds and hundreds of them—because I want to put on the record permanently and publicly exactly what a contribution he made to our community.
One person said:
This is devastating news. They have owned that shop for my entire lifetime; both Angela, Steve’s wife, and Steve were nothing short of beautiful.
Another said:
Steve and all of the staff there were an icon of my childhood and set the standard for takeaways that no one else has been able to live up to.
And another:
Steve always put a smile on my face and was good for a bit of banter. My family have been coming to Steve for years. Best pizza! Such a genuinely lovely guy. When I saw Steve last week, he was helping a guy get his pizza to his car.
Madam Speaker, these short statements underline Steve’s character and his impact on our community. Again, I extend my deep and sincere condolences to his family and to his many, many friends and customers.
Finally, I want to draw the Assembly’s attention to Miss Burch’s actions yesterday. As members are aware, in May Miss Burch successfully brought a motion to this Assembly which asked the minister to report back to the Assembly on 23 August on the government’s plans to extend bus services in the evenings, on Sundays and on public holidays. In responding to Miss Burch, the minister said:
… the new Transport Canberra bus network rapids will run to midnight Monday to Saturday, and we are looking to run them to 10.30 pm on Sunday nights.
However, yesterday Miss Burch published a Facebook post intimating that the budget had failed to include the provision of late night services on evenings and Sundays. I obviously found this very interesting, given Miss Burch had only asked for an update by August—not by the June budget date—and given that Minister Fitzharris has made it clear, including directly to Miss Burch, that these services will happen.
I commented on Miss Burch’s post, pointing this out. However, she then removed my comments and blocked me from commenting further. I invite Miss Burch to reflect on the Canberra Liberals’ own stated value of freedom of speech and that the code of conduct requires members to be honest at all times. She is not exempt from that.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
The Assembly adjourned at 4.47 pm until Tuesday, 31 July 2018
at 10 am.
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