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** Mr. Hodgman is available for a media conference
at 3pm today outside Parliament House, Hobart **
After a break of more than three months, Parliament
resumes this week – for just three days.
It rises for a month to resume in mid-April - for
another three days.
Parliament won’t sit at all during May, convenes
again for the Budget session, and then rises for a
winter break of almost two months.
Leader of the State Opposition, Will Hodgman, said
this was an absolute disgrace and further evidence
of Premier, Paul Lennon’s, contempt for transparency
and accountability.
He said Parliament also provided a voice for the
people and should sit more often to allow that voice
to be hard.
“All up, the Parliament is scheduled to sit for just
42 days (including Budget Estimates hearings) this
year – compared with 57 days in Western Australia,
58 in South Australia, 48 in Victoria and 35 in
Queensland for the year to August,” Mr. Hodgman
said.
“The Premier’s decision to schedule such a light
Parliamentary workload for his Ministers and himself
is a blatant attempt to avoid scrutiny.
“Paul Lennon is missing in action more often than
not when Parliament doesn’t sit, and it is an
outrage that he should think it appropriate to front
up to Parliament for only three days this month,
three days next month, and 42 days for the entire
year.
In 1997, as Acting Labour Leader, Paul Lennon said it
was both “unacceptable and an insult to the
Tasmanian community for Parliament to sit for only
47 days this year…public confidence in the political
system will once again be affected.”
Mr. Hodgman said he was worried by early signs that
the State Government had learned nothing about the
need to be more accountable to the people of
Tasmania after last year’s contemptuous attitude by
the government.
“The Premier committed his government to the highest
standards of transparency, accountability and
governance in last year’s State of the State address
and that promise was never honoured,” Mr. Hodgman
said.
“The Government’s efforts at GBE hearings last week
did not offer any comfort that things would be
different this year, as straightforward questions
were continually evaded.
“It is critical that the Government levels with
Tasmanians. Problems such as those now facing the
economy, key government business enterprises, and in
service delivery areas such as health and education
cannot be addressed if the Government tries to hide
them.”
There have been a number of very serious
developments for Tasmania since Parliament sat last
year that must be scrutinised.
These include:
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growing concerns about the state of the economy
and the blowing of the State Budget, according
to the mid-year Financial Review; |
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concerns over the pulp mill assessment process
and the circumstances surrounding the departure
of Julian Green from the Resource Planning and
Development Commission, and his ex-gratia
payment; |
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the fate of 300 timber workers in Scottsdale and
the government’s handling of the Auspine wood
supply saga; |
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the state of the Hydro’s finances and looming
power price rises; |
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the Government’s possible take-over of water and
sewerage assets; |
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growing evidence of mismanagement of the
correctional justice system; |
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the Government’s mismanagement of education and
health; and |
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the lack of any long-term plan for Tasmania. |
Mr. Hodgman said transparency and accountability was
desperately needed from the State Government and it
must schedule more sitting days for 2007, and
provide honest answers to straightforward questions
in the Parliament.
Further information:
Georgia Warner 0418 564 073
Ref…parliament.mar1101gw
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