Page 1246 - Week 05 - Thursday, 4 June 2020
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At the announcement of what is an enclosed space there were more questions than answers and there are still considerable vagaries about what an enclosed space is. So many people are left in the dark about what it actually means. Some venues can have 50 people in for a wake but then an hour later have to go back to only 20. That is the lie of the land at the moment. You can have 50 people and then you go to 20, perhaps even in the same room. These are absurd rules that we have in the ACT at the moment; there is just no rationale.
Why is it that the clubs in New South Wales are allowed to be open but here in the ACT they are not? Why is it that ATMs are okay but a gaming machine is not? Why is it that a TAB in Queanbeyan is fair game but here in the ACT it is not?
This government is not supporting jobs; it is not supporting employees; and it is not supporting Canberra’s families, so many of whom are doing it tough. We know thousands of people are unemployed, with thousands more underemployed. So many people have either lost everything or are on the cusp of losing everything.
This government does not take an evidence-based approach, and we saw that in regard to the school saga. We saw that on the first day, when the Chief Minister and the education minister were at odds. We saw the complete lack of clarity for days and then weeks, both on the ramping up of restrictions and also on the easing of restrictions in the education space.
It is not fair to people that have risked everything to go into business to pull out the rug from underneath them. Why did the Chief Minister say in March that we had to be aligned with New South Wales and then quickly abandon or retreat from that position?
Canberrans have been responsible. Canberrans have done the right thing. Canberrans can be trusted. Therefore, the ACT is in a position to move faster than New South Wales, not slower. I note that the Human Rights Commission has provided a report which is critical of the ACT government and their determinations, and that is why paragraph (2) in my motion today is so important. Yes, there should be direct advice, but we also want to know the rationale for the determinations they are making. What is the evidence supporting their decisions? Why is the ACT moving slower than New South Wales? What medical and health advice has this government received? Are they just hanging their hat on the advice from the national cabinet? If so, how is it that New South Wales and the ACT have different rules?
We owe it to all Canberrans to get this right. Every single day matters to people that are leveraged up, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, accruing interest, paying rent and paying wage bills. Despite the fact that for many people the federal government has been of great assistance, many are still paying hefty wage bills throughout this process. Every single day matters. To just say, “Oh, it’s only a fortnight away. It’s just 10 days away. Hang in there,” does not cut it for someone whose entire life savings have been erased over the last month.
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