Page 581 - Week 02 - Thursday, 21 February 1991
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Mr Jensen: You would not know, Dennis.
MR STEVENSON: I would know. You would not agree with it if you had any understanding of it. That is how I know. Anyone who would agree with such restrictive legislation cannot know the situation. If there is one thing we need to support in the ACT, it is small business. Many businesses cannot survive the government imposts placed on them; tax after tax after tax after tax after tax - called various names and voted in by members of this Assembly by some 16 votes to one. I voted against.
Many businesses cannot survive that sort of financial imposition, that financial pressure, and still pay the sort of money that is required for advertising. A tiny ad in the Canberra Times can cost you $200. You cannot afford this form of advertising. Radio advertising can be totally out of the question, and television advertising more so. To survive, some companies have determined that they will market their product direct to the individual, and not use television to persuade people that, if they see the product mentioned again and again and again, it must be okay.
Mr Connolly: Tell us what is wrong with the Bill. This does not stop people selling door-to-door; it just imposes standards.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Connolly said that the Bill does not stop people selling door-to-door. Let me cover briefly - and in more detail when we get to it - why it will stop some people selling door-to-door. We have a situation where there is a 10-day cooling-off period. Perhaps 24 hours or 48 hours would be reasonable for a person to have another look at the situation and decide that they were pressured into buying, or for any other reason. It does not take 10 days to do that. A perfect analogy would be members of parliament who, when they are elected, are required to read out on their day of acceptance a letter to all Canberrans saying, "I am required by law to inform you that - - -
Mr Jensen: I raise a point of order as to relevance.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Speaker, it is a highly relevant analogy. Should the people of Canberra who voted for members of parliament have six months - perhaps an appropriate time under the circumstances - to determine whether or not that was a wise decision? Why is that not allowed? I think that would give Canberrans a far more valid opportunity for protection than to be protected, supposedly, by door-to-door legislation. It is not that I do not agree with rules and regulations. I fought for them again and again and again in the field. I contacted people responsible in the trade practices regulatory area, and others, about untoward practices in the door-to-door sales area. I know that there are many and that they should not be allowed. However, the normal laws regarding these matters will cover most of the problems.
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