On page 714 of the Estimates of the National Expenditure, the department indicates that it revised its 2010-13 Strategic Plan in order to create vibrant, equitable, and sustainable rural communities. The period when this goal is to be attained is deliberately left open-ended. Furthermore, there is no schedule where the department records how year-on- year an increasing number of rural communities have become "vibrant" and "sustainable", and how state resources and expertise were being given to such communities on an equitable basis.
Each year, Parliament is given a wish list by the department, which becomes the wish list for the next year and the year after. Parliament and the nation are fed promises, not delivery. The language used is: "aimed to alleviate"; "has identified"; "is proposing"; "will be developed"; and "will propose". When will we read: "is expanding"; "is accelerating"; and "is succeeding"?
It is about time that we see proof of vibrancy, sustainability, and equitable treatment. Cope will support this department when we are taken out and shown how the lives of the rural communities have been transformed for the better. [Interjections.] Until then, it is all pie in the sky and the surreal neglect of rural communities continues unabated.
Out of the sympathy for the unrelieved suffering of the rural communities, we will vote against what is laid on the table. The department must get its act together. [Applause.]