Harry Jenkins (Scullin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the indicators of the lowering of standards of this government in the way it perceives parliament is the way in which responses to parliamentary committees have been delayed. In particular, I want to stress that Sustainable cities, the report of the House Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage tabled over two years ago, has not been responded to. The Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, who was a member of that committee and took a very active part in the committee’s deliberations, still has not been able to ensure that, through government processes, there has been a response to that report.

You would have thought that those opposite—those representing seats in Western Sydney, the Central Coast, the regional cities like Geelong—would be urging the government to put in place a response to that report that would enable policies to ensure that the cities of Australia develop sustainably, that we attack the problems of climate change and that we have a government that is willing to go into partnership at the federal level with state and local governments to put in place proper infrastructure such as public transport. Public transport on the urban fringes of Melbourne is deplorable. There is a need to recognise that federal policies dictate the way in which our cities develop, and the government should have a response to the increasing population. If this government cannot do it, they should get out of the way. They should indicate when the election is going to be, so they can move aside and put in place a Rudd Labor government to ensure that these things are— (Time expired)