Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Time and time again you hear issues raised from this side of the House and they continue to be pushed away. As said quite clearly by my colleague Mr. Menicoche, we raise issues because they are of community interest and they are important. The relentless pursuit of these community and constituency issues will continue regardless of the deaf ears on the Cabinet side of this House.
When we speak about health board issues, education board issues, Power Corporation board issues, Liquor Board issues, municipal issues, or even housing board issues, we’re not speaking just for our own voices. We’re speaking for the people, the community, the constituency, and sometimes even up to six communities we’re speaking for. Where are the Ministers listening on this issue? Are they standing behind the boards and using them as the defence to doing something? I don’t know.
I ask the Ministers across this House to take a good look. More than 50 percent of the voices of this Territory are sitting on this side of the House. So wake up from your still stare. We’re here speaking. May I remind Cabinet...
---Interjection
We know the money is chopped up at the Cabinet table but we will not stand for this. We need Cabinet to realize we have priorities that represent our communities and constituencies and they’re very important. When an MLA brings forward an issue, quite often you’ll hear from the Ministers a relentless defence of it and you’ll hear the Five-D Approaches, as I like to call it: the Minister will defend, defer, delay, and sometimes deflect and defy the issue over and over. I had to add another one because they divide the House on the issue. The Ds just keep rolling.
When do you hear from the Cabinet side of this how can we help unite the Territory on the specific issues raised by Regular Members. That’s when Cabinet’s listening. We hear that very little. I’d like to hear from Cabinet, “How can we help?”, as opposed to, “Sorry, we’re busy, maybe it’s the board’s problem.”
Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. The honourable Member for Thebacha, Mr. Miltenberger.
