Page 1460 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 17 April 1991
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consideration by this Assembly. We will then have not only the Auditor-General's view but also the view of the Public Accounts Committee. We will take those views and consider them, and we will give you our considered response when that time comes.
In the meantime, however, I think I have made it quite clear that I expect the public service to act in a responsible manner. I believe that we have a professional public service and that has to be reflected in the way they go about their business. I think that there are points of criticism and concern in the Auditor-General's report that they are already addressing. I am quite positive of that. While they might have a particular view about some aspects of it, they are professional public servants and they will do, I am sure, whatever needs to be done to get our house in order from the accounting and managerial viewpoint. I have certainly indicated that I require them to do that.
ACTION Tickets
MS MAHER: My question is to the Minister for Finance and Urban Services. Would the Minister please inform the Assembly as to why ACTION has introduced new bus tickets?
MR DUBY: I thank Ms Maher for the question. It has been estimated that up to $1m per annum may be lost to ACTION and, of course, to the ACT Government as a result of fraud, and a large proportion of that fraud is undoubtedly due to fraud of the bus ticketing system which was in place, namely, the ACTION Fare-Go system, et cetera, and the general problem of fare evasion. Whilst ACTION is currently evaluating a more effective and permanent ticketing system, it has introduced in the process a new range of tickets covering various classes of passengers as of 1 April.
The new periodical and Fare-Go tickets are brighter and bolder in colour, to assist bus drivers and supervisors to ensure that passengers are travelling with valid tickets. Both the colour and the design of the new tickets prevent unlawful replication. I show here for members interested a sample of the various colours and types of tickets which are being issued. You can see that they are very colourful. They are also very difficult to duplicate in photocopying machines and colour machines, et cetera. They have been specifically designed that way to prevent unlawful replication.
These new Fare-Go tickets have a receipt for travel which is a different colour from the ticket which, of course, is supposedly placed in the Fare-Go box. They are very colourful. People are now calling them fare glow tickets, which I think is a nice go. That receipt provides evidence of travel which was previously not available. This means that people on buses can still be asked to prove that they
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