Page 964 - Week 03 - Thursday, 14 March 1991
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Mr Speaker, I think it needs to be stressed just how important construction is to Canberra and our economy. It is a significant employer in this town, and consequently adds to the well-being of many. Let us remember that, when we talk about a major contractor going broke and not paying their subcontractors, this means that real people and real families suffer. It means that mortgages go under, threats and tensions increase in households, and life is made pretty much unbearable for those involved.
Mr Speaker, this is the human side of this Government's failure to properly and prudently administer public works contracts in this Territory. This is not simply about some figures on a balance sheet or a few more intangible statistics to be noted. This is all about bad government ruining the lives of good people - those good people, Mr Speaker, who will be voting on this Government's performance in the near future. So, it does not matter what hollow rhetoric those opposite present in this debate; what matters is the people's judgment on the way they have governed to date, and how they have failed to manage the public works contracts in this Territory.
Mr Speaker, I have thought long and hard about why this Government has failed to do anything constructive in the area of public work contracts. I have thought about the legal problems which might be involved. I have thought about the administrative problems which might be involved. But, Mr Speaker, I have also thought about the personalities involved in this Government, and, sadly, I think this is where the problem lies.
It lies with the stubborn qualities of its Minister and its Cabinet - a Cabinet, Mr Speaker, which is well saturated with the patronising big "L" Liberals' attitude of leaving the market to do its own thing. Of course, leaving the market to do its own thing does not mean no accountability for those at the top, nor does it mean that safety checks and proper procedures should not be implemented to make major contractors liable for their mistakes. It simply means that the little guy gets trampled on and is left to suffer without the protection of the Government.
Mr Speaker, this is why we will be introducing legislation into this Assembly which will look to protect subcontractors and give them the equal standing in the eyes of the law which other major creditors, such as banks, now enjoy. This, Mr Speaker, is all about the responsibility of government, and that is what we all are supposed to have. That is what we were voted here to do, and that is what we are supposed to have. Mr Speaker, it is all about administering public works contracts in a proper and prudent fashion.
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