Page 471 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 20 February 1991
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Clearly, Mr Speaker, we are not the only people to perceive the problem with Mr Collaery's Bill. However, more cutting in the eyes of Mr Collaery, I am sure, were the recent comments by the ACT Law Society. This is the society that Mr Collaery belongs to, so I hope he takes note of this. Mr Speaker, the ACT Law Society's position is quite a slap in the face for Mr Collaery. They are his own people, his own union. Let us face it, that is what they are. The ACT Law Society is a union; it is there to protect the lawyers. So, let us get that straight right now; it is a union. They may call themselves a society, but they are a union. It is really a slap in the face for Mr Collaery because they want this Bill withdrawn. His union wants the Bill withdrawn.
Mr Collaery: What Bill are we talking about?
MRS GRASSBY: The ACT Law Society, which is a union, wants the Bill withdrawn. More significantly, the society's president - - -
Mr Jensen: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I do not want to be difficult, but I raise the matter of relevance. I thought we were talking about the Bill put in by Mr Connolly, not the Bill put in by Mr Collaery.
MR SPEAKER: I assumed Mrs Grassby was.
MRS GRASSBY: More significantly, the society's president, Michael Phelps, believes the legislation to be fundamentally flawed in its current form. That is your Bill, and that is what we are discussing.
Mr Jensen: No, we are not.
Mr Kaine: We are discussing your Bill.
MRS GRASSBY: Our Bill is the Bill we want to put into this house, not your Bill, because our Bill does cover the landlord and does cover the tenants and it is seen outside as being a better Bill.
Mr Speaker, he is quite correct when he states that the director of rental bonds has no power other than to receive and refund bonds. The Bill being proposed by those opposite is an insult to the tenants of Canberra, as they are an insult to the people of Canberra. Until the Residents Rally members of the Liberal coalition Government show that they have the guts to stand up against the free market philosophy of their Liberal colleagues, no real action will be taken in this area covered by our Bill.
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