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  4. 2 July 2003

Business of the House

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About this Item
SubjectsParliament: New South Wales; Press; Roads; Tunnels; Manly Council
SpeakersSkinner Mrs Jillian; Barr Mr David; Acting-Speaker
BusinessBusiness of the House, Motion


    BUSINESS OF THE HOUSE
Page: 2637


    Reordering of General Business

    Mrs SKINNER (North Shore) [2.33 p.m.]: I move:

    That the General Business Notice of Motion (General Notice) given by me today [The Spit Bridge Widening] have precedence on Thursday 3 July 2003.

    The motion of which I gave notice earlier today is in response to an editorial in the Mosman Daily regarding David Barr, the honourable member for Manly, who wants to cosy up to the Carr Government. The motion should have priority because, as the editorial of that very fine newspaper stated, he has denigrated the people of the north shore. I advise Government members who laugh at my reference to the Mosman Daily that it is the award-winning suburban newspaper in New South Wales. If they want to watch the taking of a good photo that will be published in that newspaper, they should be outside Parliament House at 11 a.m. tomorrow to watch the people of Mosman hand me a petition containing 6,000 signatures opposing the extra lanes on The Spit bridge as proposed by the honourable member for Manly in his cosy deal with the Carr Government.

    As the editorial stated, the people of Manly will wake up and vote out the honourable member for Manly, because he surely knows that the extra lanes will not be a solution to traffic problems on the north shore. The Minister for Roads has walked across the Chamber, waving his finger in the air in dismissal of the deaths that have occurred on The Spit hill, of the gridlocked roads, of the thousands of people who turned out for a rally, of the 6,000 people who signed a petition, and of the editorial in the Mosman Daily. Referring to the honourable member for Manly, the editorial stated:

    Is he so blinkered by the cash carrot that he simply cannot see how unsafe and unworkable this plan is? …

    The unemployed queue would beckon if we had the chance to express at the ballot box about our feelings about your comments.

    My motion should be given priority because the $35 million proposal, which will make the problem worse, was considered and rejected by both Manly and Mosman councils. The honourable member for Manly is also a member of Manly Council: his council rejected his proposal. I draw the attention of those in the gallery and honourable members on my side of the House to the fact that he has been prompted by his master, the Government, to jump to his feet. He was told to jump up and stop me speaking because this is so embarrassing to him. That is proof that he has total disregard for the people of the north shore, those who signed the petition, those who have been injured on the roads and those who have to use the gridlocked roads everyday. [Time expired.]

    Mr BARR (Manly) [2.36 p.m.]: I strongly support this motion being brought on for debate. I relish the opportunity to debate this matter against the lacklustre bunch that calls itself an Opposition. The Leader of the Opposition and the honourable member for North Shore—

    The ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! The House will come to order. I will not tolerate disorderly conduct. The honourable member for Manly will be heard in silence.

    Mr BARR: I relish the opportunity to debate this matter and put to bed the absolute nonsense that has been peddled by the honourable member for North Shore and other members of the Liberal Party. They are a disgrace. They want to withhold from the people of Manly an opportunity to improve the traffic flow along the northern beaches.

    The ACTING-SPEAKER: I call the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to order. I call the honourable member for Gosford to order.

    Mr BARR: The Opposition wanted the State election on 22 March to include a referendum on the bridge proposal as opposed to the 6.5 kilometre tunnel under The Spit. Guess what? Which way did that referendum go? They lost, and they are still having difficulty coming to terms with the uncomfortable fact that after 12 years an Independent member still holds the seat of Manly. It is now almost 16 years. I will do all I can to make sure that it is 20 years.

    The ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Davidson to order.

    Mr BARR: The Opposition proposes to block the first transport initiative for that part of Sydney in almost 50 years. It has nothing to substantiate that opposition, except a half-baked notion of a 6.5 kilometre tunnel, which it claims will cost $950 million. Pigs might fly! The tunnel would cost twice that amount. As far as the councils are concerned, the matter went before Manly Council last week and the vote was tied: six for and six against.

    The ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! I call the honourable member for Upper Hunter to order.

    Mr BARR: And who used her casting vote? The failed Liberal candidate for Manly! She voted against the proposal. That is the state of play for the Liberals in Manly; they had to use their casting vote.

    The ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will cease interjecting.

    Mr BARR: I welcome the opportunity to debate this matter and to demonstrate the absolute nonsense put up by those on the other side of the House.

    Motion agreed to.

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