Page 147 - Week 02 - Thursday, 25 May 1989
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arguments for and against the casino almost daily by the media. Both sides of the argument are so heavily polarised and both sides seem equally adamant as to the importance of having or the importance of not having this casino. More specifically, the arguments seem even more divided and more intense when we talk about the casino on section 19 in the city.
What is clear, Mr Speaker, is that this issue is a divisive issue and one that should not be resolved by the railroading of one Minister in our Assembly, as was attempted by Ministers of the same Labor Party in the parliament which sits across the lake.
Allow me to emphasise once again, Mr Speaker, that this motion is about resolving conflict in the way that Labor promised throughout its election. It is about the consultation process that this Government has promised to deliver but of which at this early stage we have seen very little evidence.
I would hope, Mr Speaker, that this proposed committee will provide each member of this Assembly with the background, knowledge and ramifications of the casino, so that when members vote they can do so knowing that they act in the best interests of the community. At that point because of the divisive nature of this particular issue, and to avoid a vote along restrictive party lines, the Residents Rally will be moving that the vote on a casino on section 19 will be carried out in this Assembly as a matter of conscience by a secret ballot.
Why a select committee? Mr Speaker, the members of the Government have promised open, honest government. It is not enough for the Government to be honest in admitting culpability in the aftermath. It is critical that a government seeks the wishes of the people and understands the ramifications of its actions as best it can. To suggest that a telephone poll, or its equivalent, would suffice to gauge public opinion is not accurate enough either. If members were to have relied on the polls in the lead-up to the election we would certainly have a very different Assembly to the one that sits here today.
It is clear that a method is needed to assess all the issues involved, issues which include employment, revenue likely to be received, the practicability and desirability of sites other than the section 19 site, a further look at the findings of the rushed Caldwell report on the social implications of a casino; the environmental impact, which has never been carried out for the section 19 development; the problem with attracting criminal elements to Canberra, although, with the murder of Colin Winchester, perhaps I should say, more criminal elements to Canberra; and any other implications that may be derived from the operation of other casinos throughout Australia.
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