New South Wales General Election 2003
Page: 4502
Ms ALISON MEGARRITY (Menai—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.15 p.m.]: I move:
That this House:
(1) congratulates the Government on its re-election.
(2) notes the electoral outcome in the seat of Menai.
Honourable members will be aware that the Menai electorate was created in the redistribution prior to the 1999 State election. It comprises 17 suburbs across three local government areas—Bankstown, Liverpool and Sutherland. In the lead-up to the 1999 election the esteemed analysts Antony Green and Malcolm Mackerras extrapolated previous election results and included the new electorate on the Liberal side of the electoral pendulum, with an estimated 2 per cent margin. Like the neighbouring seat of Miranda, Menai was not on the radar screen of possible gains by the Carr Government. I am sure it came as a surprise to Messrs Green and Mackerras and as a shock to the local Liberal Party branches that the Carr Government won the electorate of Miranda with a margin of 2.3 per cent and the electorate of Menai with a margin of 4.2 per cent. The wise voters of New South Wales acknowledged the impressive record of the Carr Government's first term and the obvious shortcomings of the Opposition in securing the future of New South Wales.
The March 2003 election saw the Miranda and Menai margins strengthened to 9.1 per cent and 9.5 per cent respectively. There were also impressive results in neighbouring Government-held electorates like Liverpool and East Hills. All these outstanding results related to Government members' efforts in the intervening four years, not just the four weeks or so prior to the election. It is a fact that my team entered the official campaign period secure in the knowledge that the Carr Government's local 1999 election commitments had been delivered or were well under way. Today I have time to highlight only half a dozen or so of these improvements to the quality of life in my community.
The $47 million four-lane Woronora Bridge was completed in February 2001. The Bangor bypass was originally estimated to cost $36 million but that cost was revised as a result of community consultation—we listened to our community—to include the north-south link that the Roads and Traffic Authority was saying was not on the agenda, to a total project cost of $100 million. The then Minister for Transport, and Minister for Roads listened to my community and included a further $15 million worth of improvements after the environmental impact statement was released, bringing the total cost of the Bangor bypass to $115 million.
The third improvement was the construction of the $5.2 million Wattle Grove Public School and the beginning of the full school upgrade of Alfords Point Public School. The fourth is the substantial upgrade of major intersections on Governor Macquarie Drive at Chipping Norton. The fifth was the easy access upgrade of Holsworthy railway station and the construction of a commuter car park, along with the $4.3 million upgrade of Padstow railway station. The sixth improvement was the rollout of the $6 million Georges River foreshore improvement program, which has seen improvements not only to the foreshore but to the quality of water in the Georges River
During that term we completed many other improvements in my electorate, involving significant expenditure. Those improvements included the work at Padstow Heights Public School and the completion of the M5-Moorebank Avenue overpass. Improvements were also made to the three hospitals serving my electorate: Sutherland, Liverpool and Bankstown. In the lead-up to the election I asked my constituents to judge me on my record as their local member. It is imperative for me to note that these results were achieved through working closely during those four years with individuals and groups within my community. I acknowledged on the eve of the election, and I still acknowledge, that there is much more to be done in my electorate. After the election we wasted no time in getting on with the job.
Our record during the campaign and during the previous four years is in stark contrast to the dishonest campaign of our opponents in the Menai electorate. The Liberal candidate made a great fuss about having a web site. In fact he had two web site exposures, but he did not promote one of them. His efforts on the web site of the Leader of the Opposition are worthy of comment. On that web site the Liberal candidate mentioned the suburbs in the Menai electorate. As I have advised the House today, there are 17 suburbs in the Menai electorate. Mr Thomas's estimate did not include Barden Ridge, Pleasure Point, Voyager Point or Padstow Heights. Those suburbs did not rate a mention. He did mention a suburb called Menai High. Whilst the school is of a large size, it is not a suburb. He spelt the very historic suburb of Holsworthy as "Holesworthy". Perhaps he thought it was the traditional name for a place of holes. Chipping Norton is certainly not "Chip-ping Norton", and there is no suburb called Chipping Norton North or South, as he states. On the web site Mr Thomas was noted as a "co-covenor". I am not sure what that is, but apparently he is one. There are 47,368 voters in the Menai electorate, not 43,614 as he states, and he even managed to misspell my surname.
The prospect of a person who gives so little attention to detail, or displays such a lack of knowledge about the electorate, becoming my local member spurred me on. Being generous, I acknowledge that anyone can make a mistake. But the inaccuracies on the second web site which he boasted about were in no way innocent mistakes. Truth in advertising did not apply to his efforts on this web site. His most scurrilous assertion was that 6,000 people were about to move into the Gandangarra Aboriginal Land Council area on Heathcote Road. The web site and subsequent petition that he issued called on residents to "Stop Labor and the Aboriginal Land Council developing West Menai". I do not know how the Labor Party came into the equation.
Public rejection of this assertion by the aboriginal land council, and confirmation by Sutherland Shire Council in its draft "People's local environmental plan [LEP]" that the overwhelming majority of the land was not suitable for residential development, did not stop him. This blatantly racist attack was promoted by the Liberal candidate right up to election day. He also falsely claimed that Labor was not building the whole Bangor bypass. Everyone would be aware of the Bangor bypass project. Hopefully, our T-shirts on election day and the substantial work that has already been undertaken convinced our constituents that his assertions were wrong.
Mr DEPUTY-SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Bega will come to order.
Ms ALISON MEGARRITY: The dishonesty continued. On election day the Liberal Party team asked people to sign a petition to reopen Moorebank police station 24 hours a day. Moorebank police station is already open 24 hours a day. There was another petition dishonestly claiming that the Government was not undertaking the whole Bangor bypass project. It is apparent from the trucks and earthmoving equipment that the bypass is being built. It saddens me that these claims were made and that our community was taken for granted. I am pleased to report that the community saw through the scurrilous attempts of this desperate candidate.
Throughout the whole campaign Mr Thomas avoided any reference to the fact that he did not live in the electorate. Although he lives in the Sutherland shire, we have not seen him since the election. He claimed that he would be a good local member and that he would be diligent and energetic. We did not see him during the four years from 1999 to 2003 and we have not seen him since. Overall the election result was an outstanding one for the Carr Government, sadly marred by the death of our friend and colleague Jim Anderson and the electoral loss of a decent and hard-working member, Wayne Smith. The electorate of New South Wales put a big vote of faith in the Carr Government and acknowledged the work of the Government not only in my electorate but in electorates across the State.
I endorse Brett Thomas's candidacy for the 2007 election. I assume he will be the candidate, as he was in 1999. At this stage he has not conceded his loss in the 2003 election. I will not hold my breath because he has not conceded his loss in the 1999 election either. The electoral returns are in, the writs have been declared and Labor holds the electorate of Menai. We are getting on with the job, and have done so from day one after the election. Work is being done on the Bangor bypass as I speak, and other projects have been undertaken across my electorate. I could speak all day about the different aspects of my electorate, which comprises three local government areas.
I am anxious to hear the Opposition's contribution to this debate. I hope that it will join in the motion to congratulate the Carr Government on its re-election and note the electoral result in Menai. The election analysts in 1999 thought that Labor would not achieve this result and some people mistakenly thought we would not achieve it in 2003. I speak in the House today as the member for Menai, humbled by the support of my community.
Mrs SHELLEY HANCOCK (South Coast) [12.25 p.m.]: I note the comments of the honourable member for Menai that the writs have been declared. They were declared seven months ago. This tirade against a former Liberal candidate is unnecessary. When the Wallabies defeat a team, they do not launch into a tirade about their opponent's tactics or training techniques. It is congratulations, game over, let us get on with the job. The Australian cricket team does not talk about the team it has just defeated. It does not launch into a tirade against its opponents. The honourable member for Menai is displaying poor manners and poor sportsmanship. Winners are grinners and losers should congratulate winners. But I am sure the Labor members have had enough congratulations. We have all had enough congratulations. This self-congratulatory rhetoric six months after the election is tiresome, time wasting and boring.
I could move a motion about the Coalition's victory on the South Coast. I could congratulate my electoral team on the South Coast. I could say that we were able to convey the truth to the people of my electorate about this Government. We conveyed the truth about the total neglect of the Princes Highway. We got the message across about the neglect of Lake Wollomboola, which continues to be a bone of contention in the village of Culburra in my electorate. We conveyed the truth about the problems associated with the lack of fire hazard reduction, which led to two serious bushfires in my electorate and the loss of 33 homes in one season. We were able to convey that truth about problem and show how we might remedy the situation.
We raised the problems of State environmental planning policy [SEPP] 5. Only recently the Minister promised a review of SEPP 5. We are still waiting for that review. In the meantime development applications keep flooding into electorates for supposedly aged and disabled housing. They are pseudo-residential developments, which are upsetting communities throughout the State, and particularly in my electorate. We were able to convey the truth about that during my election campaign. We are attempting to tackle the problems in schools. We talked to teachers and nurses who were concerned about their working conditions.
We listened to the community of the South Coast, rather than offer empty promises and rhetoric, such as we hear from the Government in the House today. We listened to businesses concerned about workers compensation. The Government has not done much about that. We talked to local builders about home warranty insurance and we talked to self-funded retirees. The Government has not listened to them. There is an endless list of people who have been let down, especially since the election. All the things that have been covered up—the lies and deceit—are now coming out. Did honourable members opposite talk about poker machine taxes before the election? No. Did they talk about State environmental planning policy [SEPP] 5? No. Did they talk about inadequate and inappropriate planning provisions? No. It is all starting to come out now.
I do not carry on about my win in the South Coast electorate, but I am very proud to be the victor. I could boast about it, but I am busy in my electorate. We heard the honourable member for Murray-Darling verbally dissect The Nationals' carcass a couple of weeks ago. He must have spent hours preparing that scientific speech. What a load of claptrap and rubbish! It was a waste of time. He has a huge electorate; surely he could have used that time to deal with its problems. The notice paper has three or four self-congratulatory motions for debate today. They are full of self-congratulatory rhetoric and backslapping. That is poor sportsmanship. I congratulate honourable members opposite, but it is over and it is about time they shut up about it and let everyone else get on with the job. We have witnessed uninspiring and poor behaviour. I have been listening to the interjections from honourable members opposite. I think about some of the great winners we have had in this country—I do not regard the Carr Government as a great winner—and Cathy Freeman comes to mind. I wonder whether she swans around congratulating herself.
Mr Alan Ashton: She has written a book.
Mrs SHELLEY HANCOCK: She has, and she is getting on with her life. The honourable member for East Hills has hit the nail on the head. She is taking on new challenges and helping her people. She is not swanning around telling everyone what a great person she is. We all know that.
Mr Alan Ashton: Read the book. It is all about history.
Mrs SHELLEY HANCOCK: She is getting on with her life. The same is true of all our sporting legends and teams—they are getting on with the next challenge. The members of the Australian cricket team do not congratulate themselves; they congratulate the teams they have defeated and get on with the challenge. Honourable members on this side of the House are not poor losers. However, honourable members opposite are ungracious, poorly behaved winners who saved many of their announcements until after the election. They disappointed many people and are continuing to do so.
The communities of Sussex Inlet lobbied for 10 years for an ambulance station, but there was no response from the Government or the local member. The Liberal Party promised that, if elected, it would provide the ambulance station. Just before the election the Government promised that the ambulance station would be completed by March this year. Construction has not even begun. The local member and this Government have not done the required homework about rezoning and the location of the station. Nobody knows when construction will begin or where. That is an illustration of the level of planning that goes into this Government's promises. It has let down the community of Sussex Inlet, just as it has let down many other communities. Honourable members opposite should put an end to this self-congratulatory claptrap, rhetoric and rubbish and get on with the job they are supposed to be doing in their electorates. We are bored with all this!
Mr Alan Ashton: You are boring.
Mrs SHELLEY HANCOCK: The honourable member is terribly boring. I am not as boring as he is!
Mr ALAN ASHTON (East Hills) [12.35 p.m.]: I know that the honourable member for South Coast is new in this Parliament. I admire her for taking on the unenviable task of criticising the honourable member for Menai's congratulatory motion. This motion was foreshadowed in April and, of course, it was very relevant then. Under the standing orders we could have moved the next day to bring it on. However, we on this side of the House knew that it would take honourable members opposite seven months to be able to oppose it. We gave one of the new boys or girls a chance to make a contribution.
The honourable member for South Coast lives in a fantasy world. She believes that after the Wallabies play a game they get on with it and do not worry about the result. Has she heard of a guy called Eddie Jones and his criticism of the way the English play, how they work in the ruck and the maul and their illegal tactics? Has she heard of Chris Anderson from the Kangaroos and his complaints about player selection? The honourable member's speech was about football and cricket. She said that members of the Australian cricket team do not go around saying, "Ha! Ha! Ha! We beat someone." Some Australian cricketers lived in my electorate, including Steve and Mark Waugh. They are very happy to let everyone know they have the best cricket team in the world. This has nothing to do with politics, but the honourable member raised it because she could not say anything about how this Government won its third four-year term.
In the speech I gave a little while ago I listed the seats that will fall to this Government at the next election. The pendulum does not swing back and forth; it swings only one way—to the left, believe it or not. That might frighten some of my colleagues. Cronulla is in the sights, but we probably have it locked up for the next election. I know the honourable member for Cronulla is looking at getting a few thousand members enrolled to save his preselection ambitions. Honourable members opposite do not like the fact that they lost the election. They try to say it was a stolen election. There might have been only two stolen elections in the history of great democracies.
There is a rumour that John F. Kennedy—a great President—might have had a little bit of assistance in the State of Illinois, where people might have stuffed ballot papers. Of course, the most infamous stolen election was that which gave the White House to George W. Bush—the bloke we trailed around the country last week for photo opportunities. He waved at a Qantas baggage handler when he got off the plane. His mate, John Howard, was not far behind him, or in an appropriate position behind him. Of course, politics is about celebrating victories. However, we should also learn from our defeats.
Instead of spending seven months preparing and then criticising the Government for crowing about winning, honourable members opposite should be analysing why they lost. They have had eight years to come up with policies and to fund their promises, but they could not do that. They have had eight years to find a leader and they have come up with three so far. We know from some of the speeches that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has been making lately that he is being coached. The Leader of the Opposition gave him a big elbow in the ribs yesterday and he jumped up to take a point of order. The hierarchy is working appropriately. The bottom line is that this is a great Government going great places and it will continue to be re-elected. The redistribution prior to the last election created five extra Liberal seats and we won them all. Given that, honourable members opposite do not have much going for them.
I will spend only 56 seconds talking about the great things happening in my electorate, including the Padstow railway station, the increase in police numbers in the Bankstown area and better work being done at the local hospital. No dirty election tricks were played by my side in the electorate of East Hills. The Liberal Party had a huge truck with an illegal sign encouraging people to vote for a bloke no-one had heard of. The Electoral Commissioner told the candidate that it was illegal. They did not know the rules and they broke them. One Nation told everyone that there would be a mosque on every corner, and so on. The Liberals tried a few other tricks that I will not bother to mention. As a result of all that, my electorate had the highest voter turnout in the Sydney metropolitan area—which reflects well on the candidate—and the second highest voter turnout in New South Wales. Enough said!
Mr STEVEN PRINGLE (Hawkesbury) [12.39 p.m.]: The Government's slogan during the last election campaign was "Getting on with the job". Clearly this is one area in which the Government is failing and, in fact, it is getting even worse. In September another 400 full-time jobs were lost in this State. New South Wales continues to lag behind its major interstate competitors. We are losing business opportunities because this Government is not serious about creating jobs, cutting red tape and getting rid of bureaucracy. New South Wales lost 400 full-time jobs while 10,700 were created in Victoria and 23,000 were created in Queensland. I love this State—as, I am sure, everyone else does—and I hate to see all these jobs being lost to interstate because of a government that plainly has lost interest and is not working.
Home warranty insurance is a classic area in which we are being let down because spin is failing to deliver any results. We have had promises after promises about fixing up the home warranty insurance system, yet builders—some with 20, 30 or 40 years experience in the industry—complain to me weekly about the situation, and many of them are going interstate. That is totally unacceptable. It is a nightmare to get any project through the current home warranty insurance system. It simply shows that the Government is failing to do its job.
The honourable member for South Coast referred to State environmental planning policy [SEPP] 5. How long does it take the Government to do something about approving SEPP 5 exemptions? Councils were told to lodge submissions. Two councils in my electorate have now had their submissions lodged for almost six months. They have complied with the Government's requirements. Yet the Government has not approved SEPP 5 exemptons, nor has it issued any significant correspondence on the matter. Once again the Government engages in more spin but takes no action; it continues to let the people down. Everyone knows that SEPP 5 is a rort, and yet nothing is being done about it.
Hospital waiting lists continue to grow. The Government made great play about airconditioning for local schools, yet a new school at Rouse Hill, has been built without full airconditioning. The people of Richmond, my neighbouring electorate, talk to me about the battles they are having. Richmond is one of the hottest areas in Sydney—we see on the television news the temperature in Richmond compared with the temperature in the metropolitan areas—yet there is still no airconditioning in that school. Law and order issues are also not being addressed. Drive-by shootings occur almost every day, yet a nonsense bill is being put forward that does not address the problems.
In my previous contribution I gave many examples of the Government's waste and mismanagement since the election, and I now give further examples. I refer to the $519 million blow-out in the Treasury Managed Fund, the $305 million blow-out in negative investment returns, the $96 million blow-out relating to EnergyAustralia's loss on Powertel, the $43 million blow-out in transport consultants and legal fees, and the $93 million blow-out relating to the Intercontinental Hotel land sale bungle. The honourable member for Tweed had the audacity to say that stamp duty is not an issue in his electorate. It certainly is an issue in my electorate, and just about every other electorate in New South Wales. The figures speak for themselves.
Over the past eight years stamp duty on property sales in Dural has increased by 177 per cent; in Kellyville by 165 per cent; in Kenthurst by 112 per cent; in Bligh Park, an area in which many people are on single incomes, by 192 per cent; and in Richmond by 252 per cent. The list goes on and on. This Government won the election by spin; it did not win it on its achievements. As members on this side of the Chamber have said throughout this debate, and during debate on the motion moved by the honourable member for East Hills, it is time the Government got on with the job. We do not need any more self-congratulation. The Government should stop wasting the time of the House and get on with the job.
Mr PAUL LYNCH (Liverpool) [12.43 p.m.]: I am delighted to speak in the debate and support the motion. Both Opposition members who have contributed to this debate have whinged and moaned about wasting the time of the House. If they had a shred of decency they would not have bothered to speak in the debate at all. If there had been any substance to their claim they would have sat down, shut up, let the debate go on, and saved 10 minutes of the House's time. Of course, they would not do that, because the essence of their claim is both dishonest and illogical.
As I said in an earlier debate, there is an extraordinary exhibition of unresolved grief going on in this Chamber today. Members opposite still do not understand the democratic result that occurred earlier this year. None of them has the slightest understanding of what actually happened. The best they can come up with is, "We were robbed. The people got it wrong." Apart from being logically irrational, what does that say about their view of the people of New South Wales? Are members opposite suggesting that the people of New South Wales are so silly that they can produce an election result of the magnitude and the size they did? That is the inherent consequence of the arguments that members opposite are pursuing.
They seem to be suggesting not only that we told fibs but also that the people of New South Wales are so stupid that they were conned by what members opposite claim were lies. Members opposite also complained that members on this side are wasting the time of the House by continually saying this. Perhaps we will keep saying it until such time as members opposite understand that they lost the election. The message has not quite sunk in yet. If we continue to say it, and keep bringing on these debates, the penny might finally drop on the other side of this House. The election result in Menai was extraordinarily good. It was an outstanding result, partly because the candidate is outstanding.
There are couple of interesting things about Menai. First, the result that occurred there was replicated in seats such as Miranda, which was also an excellent result with an excellent candidate. Second, none of the experts within the party—or outside the party, for that matter—thought we were going to win the 1999 election, although a number of us thought we could. Likewise, there were some doubts about whether the Labor candidate for Miranda would retain his seat in 2003. I did not have any doubt about that, but obviously a whole lot of experts thought that might not happen. Frankly, it is a reflection of the work that has been done by the honourable member for Menai and the Government in that area.
A whole series of matters go towards explaining why the election result in Menai was as good as it was, but it was due in large part to the Government's initiatives in the electorate. I refer to the Woronora Bridge, the Bangor bypass, Wattle Grove Public School, improvements to Governor Macquarie Drive, the Holsworthy railway station upgrade and the parking station, Padstow railway station upgrade, and the Georges River foreshore program. All those projects are significant achievements. I am acutely aware of them because Menai is on the eastern boundary of my electorate and a number of my constituents use many of the facilities I have referred to.
The nonsense rhetoric we have heard today from the Opposition about lies and deceit comprehensively misses the point. When you provide facilities and deliver resources to an electorate, you are rewarded for that. People actually vote for you if you are doing the job. That is precisely what has happened. The culture of denial coming from the other side of the House about this is absolutely staggering. Members opposite cannot seem to get through their heads that if you actually deliver these sorts of facilities, you will get an electoral result.
Mr Andrew Constance: Pork-barrelling!
Mr PAUL LYNCH: The Opposition interjects, "Pork-barrelling!" Members opposite should explain the dishonesty of their position. If the Government does not do anything, they attack us, yet when we do something, they say it is pork-barrelling. There is indeed some dishonesty and deceit in this argument, and it is all coming from members opposite—from a bunch of people who could not lie straight in bed, a bunch of people who still have not got it through their heads that they lost the last election.
There is some poetic justice about the election result in Menai. The Opposition ran a campaign against the Gandangara Aboriginal Land Council, stooping to the depths of that campaign to try to destroy the Labor campaign—and the bloke who ran the campaign was a lawyer. It was an absolutely disgraceful campaign. It was the lowest form of racism adopted by the Liberal Party in the Menai campaign. The Opposition ought to stand condemned for all time for what it did—and the electoral result is an appropriate way of dealing with it.
Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE (Bega) [12.48 p.m.]: It will be quite enjoyable next week when we read in the local press in Menai something along the lines of "Megarrity has to move motion in Parliament to congratulate herself." Talk about giving herself an uppercut! Did not Roozendaal write to her and send her a congratulatory note? Do we actually have to move a motion in State Parliament to congratulate a member? It will be interesting to see how much funding and money the Labor Party had to pump into the seat of Menai to win it. A couple of months before the election the Sun Herald reported that candidate Brett Thomas was leading in the polls with 59 per cent support compared to Labor's Alison Megarrity, who had 41 per cent. After four years, if that is the ringing endorsement that she is getting from her own constituency, I would be very concerned. If she is 20 points behind in the poll, how much money did the Labor Party stuff into her seat to save the day? The fact is that she fluffed around on the Bangor bypass for four years, she did not get anything done, and the political pressure applied by Brett Thomas and the Liberal Party in the area made her act.
The honourable member for Menai has moved a self-indulgent, ridiculous motion in this House when instead she could be debating the clubs issue. I would be interested to know how she voted in caucus on that issue, with the 34 people who were there fighting for their local clubs. I would be interested to know how many local clubs, local sporting groups and community groups are going to be impacted in Menai. The Government was not honest and open with the clubs movement. It did not tell them that it was going to apply one of the greatest tax increases in history on the clubs movement following the election. The honourable member for Menai did not tell the club managers that was the plan of Michael Egan and Premier Bob Carr.
The fact is that the State Government won the election on lies and deceit. It is remarkable that six months into its term Government members are still moving motions congratulating themselves. The Government is outrageous, particularly in relation to clubs, about which we have heard nothing from the honourable member for Menai. We did not see her come into this place and vote the right way to protect the future of the clubs movement throughout New South Wales. Mrs Megarrity was not there fighting for her local Menai clubs in the caucus
Mr Barry Collier: Call her the member for Menai.
Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE: The member for Menai—I should say the self-indulgent member for Menai. We should look at other issues that might be impacting upon the people of Menai and the ringing endorsement that they gave her prior to the election, which was no doubt saved at the end of the day by an extraordinary amount of campaign funding that went into the seat. I would be interested to know the percentage of stamp duty increases in relation to average house prices in Menai.
Mr Joseph Tripodi: There are no percentage increases in stamp duty.
Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE: I am sure they are there. Property increases throughout Menai are hurting first home buyers. Where is the honourable member for Menai, and what is she saying? Absolutely nothing, just as she said nothing about the Bangor bypass. I congratulate the local Liberal party candidate Brett Thomas on applying political pressure on the State Government in order to get it to act, because I am sure the honourable member for Menai was missing in action in relation to that issue—hence the polling results a month out from the State election. After six months this Government has clearly demonstrated its arrogance, its imperialism, to the people of New South Wales.
Mr Barry Collier: Its imperialism?
Mr ANDREW CONSTANCE: We have an imperial Premier. It has demonstrated its arrogance in relation to clubs, its arrogance in relation to tax, and its arrogance in relation to public transport. I would be intrigued to know how many Millennium trains go to the railway stations in the Menai electorate and what the honourable member for Menai has to say about that. I look forward to seeing a Liberal in the seat of Menai in 2007.
Ms ALISON MEGARRITY (Menai—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.53 p.m.], in reply: I will be gracious and thank all honourable members for their contributions to the debate. The honourable member for South Coast—note that I use the correct title—talked about the importance of sportsmanship in contests. I acknowledged in my contribution that it is important to show courtesy to others. I inform honourable members opposite that their colleague the Federal member for Hughes, Danna Vale, and Sutherland shire Liberal councillor Steve Simpson were both gracious enough to congratulate the Carr Government and me on the result in Menai. My point was that it was a shame that the Liberal candidate did not extend the same courtesy. It obviously shows his lack of regard for such things.
Members opposite castigated me and the honourable member for East Hills—who moved a similar motion today—for moving these motions as a way of proudly patting ourselves on the back so long after the election. There are two things I will say about that. First, there are processes in this Parliament whereby members can move to have their motion given priority. We have not chosen to do that over past six months or so; we have allowed the due process of the Parliament to take place. If we had been anxious to come in and brag we would have moved that the motions be given priority. As I said, we have waited for them to come up. Secondly, it is about integrity. It is important to put the facts on the record, and that is what I have attempted to do today because in the heat of an election campaign it is obviously difficult to get these messages through. My constituents and the people of the Menai electorate deserve to have this on the public record.
The Liberal candidate, a former Sutherland shire councillor, approved developments hand over fist while he was on the council. Indeed, on many occasions he overruled the recommendation of the council officers. Then in the election campaign he had the hide to complain that Labor and the Aboriginal Land Council are about to overdevelop the area. It was very odd considering the legacy that he left in so many parts of our area. After his term on the council the honourable member for Miranda, the honourable member for Heathcote and I supported Sutherland Shire Council in obtaining an exemption from SEPP5. This SEPP was mentioned by members opposite. They were obviously unaware that Sutherland Shire Council, one of the three councils in my electorate, actually has an exemption from SEPP5. Perhaps they should do some more homework.
Mr Thomas is also a private lawyer; he supposedly defends people. In fact, an advertisement in the St George and Sutherland Shire Leader states, "In trouble with the police? Contact Brett Thomas, accredited law specialist". But during the election campaign he had the hide to support the Leader of the Opposition's mandatory sentencing policy. If he takes that approach to his work I do not think I would like him as my defence lawyer. As I have said, integrity is important. The Opposition's scurrilous campaign needs to be put on the record—and today is the day. The oversize signs, referred to by the honourable member for East Hills, were also a feature of the campaign. Despite directions from the returning officer to remove them, they still went up. The Liberal candidate and his cohorts were in the middle of traffic causing delays which I am sure impressed motorists.
The Opposition is concerned that Government members have referred to the election and election material so long after the election. On 16 October the honourable member for Epping referred to the bail material and said that the Government was elected on deceit and fraud. In regard to bail, my brochure read:
… to keep serious criminals off the street we are making it much harder for repeat offenders to get bail.
I do not call that deceit; I do not call it fraud. It is just a statement of fact. We are making it harder for repeat offenders to get bail. The honourable member for Bega—being new to the place and obviously very unfamiliar with my electorate—quoted the esteemed Taverner poll. If he was being honest with us today he would tell us that his own Liberal polling did not coincide with the esteemed Taverner poll, and certainly the Labor Party's polling did not. There was no last-minute flurry of money to save us in Menai. As I said, I relied on the good sense and the heart of my constituents, and the hard work that has been done in the past four years, not just in the four weeks leading up to the campaign. I think the Taverner poll may have got the names in the wrong order because the actual result was pretty similar.
The honourable member for Bega spoke about property increases in Menai. The major capital works that the Government has carried out have, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, pushed property prices along. Those capital works include Woronora Bridge and the Bangor bypass. We are getting on with the job. The Bangor bypass is full speed ahead. We are getting on with the job in regard to design work on the Alfords Point Bridge duplication and continued development of the Lucas Heights sporting complex. We thank the electorate of Menai for their good sense, and we promise to deliver.
Motion agreed to.
[The Acting-Speaker (Mr Mills) left the chair at 1.00 p.m. The House resumed at 2.15 p.m.]