Page 3299 - Week 11 - Thursday, 12 September 1991
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Ms Maher: Tomorrow? Next week.
MR MOORE: Until next week. Other than that, I cannot support the motion to go to a board of inquiry under the ACT Inquiries Act.
MR STEVENSON (5.07): I spoke on the matter of public importance and obviously I am very concerned about the alcohol problem, as are many people in Canberra. I am concerned that Mr Berry assumed, incorrectly, that I would automatically support an inquiry. I have some major difficulties with an inquiry as suggested by Mr Collaery. I feel that if there is to be an inquiry it should have sufficient time to do its job correctly. I do not feel that two months is sufficient time.
There is also another major problem. Anything less than that is not sufficient time. Anything more than that makes it even more difficult for anything to be done by this current Assembly, because we will be into a new election. After the election it could be suggested by a totally new government, with lots and lots of different faces, "We are not particularly concerned about that inquiry at all; we have our own ideas, our own platform, and we think the people want different thoughts", and so on.
So, basically, I do not think this is the right time for it. If there is to be one, it should be long enough. It should also have an indication that its recommendations will largely be supported. To have yet another inquiry with no teeth is not going to help us whatsoever. Another inquiry could make various recommendations, superb or otherwise, and be totally ignored by the Government.
One of the best indications we could give in this Assembly that we feel that alcohol is a problem and that we support these matters being investigated is to take up various recommendations that have been made in this Assembly as a result of inquiries and move that they be followed. There are a lot of people in the Assembly, but it does not appear that anybody is taking the slightest notice of what I am talking about. I think that is unfortunate. How would anybody know my views? It might have helped if I had been consulted about the idea of a motion being put in this Assembly on such an important matter, before that was the case.
Mr Humphries came across to me and said, "No doubt you have seen this", and I said, "Seen what?". Unfortunately, it was the case that I had not seen it. It is an important matter. I think it is highly important.
Mr Humphries: It was on your desk.
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