This is not a budget – it’s a fudget!
It will be remembered as the mother of all Swan dives by ‘Khemlani Kev’ (for those who can’t remember, Tirath Khemlani was a shady Pakistani money lender of last resort for the economically disgraced Whitlam government in 1975). (more…)
The Hon. CHARLIE LYNN: My question without notice is directed to the Minister for Energy. I refer to the proposal by AGL Energy to build a 300-megawatt gas-fired power station at Leafs Gully in the electorate of Wollondilly. Is the Minister aware that Campbelltown, Wollondilly and Camden councils are all opposed to the construction of a gas-fired power station at Leafs Gully? Is the Minister aware that Campbelltown already has one of the highest rates of asthma and air pollution in the country? Is the Minister aware also that the proposed power station has the capacity for the installation of four gas turbine generators? Will the Minister give an assurance that the proposed power station at Leafs Gully will not double or even quadruple in size if approved by his State Government? (more…)
The Hon. CHARLIE LYNN [11.28 a.m.]: This motion should be headed “Lies, damned lies, and statistics”! Yesterday Government members cited numerous statistics in asserting that there is virtually no crime in New South Wales. The New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has revealed that from 1995 to now—or while this Government has been in office—the trend in the incidence of violent crime per 100,000 population has been increasing. I am not holding the graph upside down: it is going up. Yet one would have thought from the statistics cited yesterday that there is no crime in New South Wales—in fact, there are no problems in this State. The mob opposite is so good it would describe a Coogee Bay sandwich as slices of sourdough with a medium-rare la excreta filling! The Government changes the definition of crime and manipulates statistics and then Labor members move self-congratulatory motions to create the perception that the Government is doing a great job and there are few problems or crime worries. (more…)
Bill introduced, and read a first time and ordered to be printed on motion by the Hon. Charlie Lynn.
The Hon. CHARLIE LYNN [11.40 a.m.]: I move:
That this bill be now read a second time.
This is a bill for an Act to require the Hurlstone Agricultural High School site to be retained for educational purposes. The objects of the bill are to ensure that the Hurlstone Agricultural High School site remains in public ownership and to limit the use of the site to that of a government school. Clause 1 sets out the name of the proposed Act. Clause 2 provides for the commencement of the proposed Act on the date of assent to the proposed Act. Clause 3 defines the Hurlstone Agricultural High School site and contains other interpretative provisions. Clause 4 specifies the objects of the proposed Act, as referred to in the overview I have just given. Clause 5 prohibits the Hurlstone Agricultural High School site from being sold, transferred, leased or otherwise alienated. Clause 6 restricts development of the site so that it can be used only for the purposes of a government school. Clause 7 prevents any development of the site from becoming a project to which part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 applies. (more…)
The Hon. CHARLIE LYNN [5.06 p.m.]: I extend my condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the devastating Black Saturday fires in Victoria. I congratulate the Hon. Mick Veitch on presenting the condolence motion to the House. Black Saturday was our greatest peacetime tragedy with more than 200 of our fellow Victorians burnt to death under the most horrific of circumstances. The loss of family, relatives and friends is devastating for survivors and their local communities. The loss of irreplaceable family memorabilia will add much pain to their grief. They will bear the emotional scars of this tragedy until the day they die. I hope they find some comfort in the knowledge that Australians everywhere share their grief and will do whatever they can do to help them rebuild their lives, their homes, and their communities. (more…)
