Page 762 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 July 1989
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The other night with my colleagues I met a group of Canberra shopkeepers - my other colleagues have met other groups of Canberra shopkeepers - and sweeping this city is a realisation by the retail sector that its salvation only lies now with a Residents Rally. Mr Kaine laughs. Well may he, and one hopes that laugh goes around the city.
Mr John Bradford, who is the president of the Retail Tenant Association of Australia, has been in the Rally office, in this chamber, and has co-addressed meetings with the Rally. It is very clear that one of the great concerns of the retailers in this city, apart from interest rates, a topic which my colleague Mr Stefaniak will address, is that the squeeze comes from artificially contained shopping areas and regulated releases of commercial development sites, the result being that owners of modest little shopping centres sited in Canberra suburbs can demand rents comparable to interstate CBDs. This planning commercial disaster is costing us a lot.
What was the landlord contribution to the Business Review Committee during those years? We know that Mr Hedley sat on that committee that took notice of, hopefully, and was intended to take notice of, the concerns of the tenant class of this city. What clearer, what absolute, what more dreadful conflict of interests could there be than to have that situation? Surprisingly, and to do justice to Mr Hedley, the recommendations of that committee are all palpably good, they are mostly acceptable, but they have not been put into effect. Why have they not been put into effect? The Rally wants to know. The Rally has indicated that the member for Canberra, the Hon. Ros Kelly, was aware of these concerns, and we wish to know really to what extent ministerial knowledge of Mr Hedley's business and related interests went. Is it not a good example of our need to go back to the drawing board to deal with this situation to ensure that possibly wrongly based suspicions do not go abroad and that confidence in the public service is maintained?
In recent years the Victorian Government has developed insider trading and secret commissions legislation second to none in this country. There have been prosecutions in the Victorian Supreme Court which have set a new standard. With the help of the judiciary and competent, able draftsmen - and I am sure, Mr Speaker, we have both of these in this Territory - the Victorian Government has brought to book inside traders and other persons.
It seems clear that we need that level of innovative law reform in the Australian Capital Territory, and existing codifications of law, such as obtaining an advantage by fraud, do not match a situation where there is a wink and a nod and a friendly relationship. We all know - I would like the ministerial bench to hear this - that you can get into a situation where it is not always wise to be socially friendly, and socially prominent, with persons with whom - - - (Quorum formed)
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .