Page 4171 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 23 October 1991
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DR KINLOCH: I have already said, when you were out of the chamber, Mr Berry, that I recognised the ALP's concern in this matter. I want to stress it here and press it here because here we have a place where funds can come from. I would suggest that, at this point of crisis when some of our citizens are in particular trouble - I am not being judgmental about this - this could be a very useful area and an appropriate area where the kinds of funds that have been accumulated by the NRMA from all us - we are the ones who first gave those funds - could be applied so that that kind of trouble can be reached.
I think it is not enough to have a proclaimed place or proclaimed places. That is only fishing people out of the water. All you are doing in proclaimed places is saying, "Here, each night, at least there is somewhere where people who are wandering in an alcoholic haze in the middle of our community can go to be showered, given a bed and a meal, taken care of, and taken, if you like, away from the possibility of creating damage to the rest of society and to themselves". But I would think that, beyond that, an even better use of the kinds of moneys that will be in this trust fund would be to see whether much more can be done to move from merely looking after people in a shelter-type situation to helping all those people who are involved with alcohol problems, whether picked up by the police or otherwise, and to move towards restoring their lives in a positive way.
I think it would be a great thing for the NRMA in the ACT - and something to suggest to the NRMA elsewhere; for example, in New South Wales - if we could move towards this kind of facility where people could be taken from proclaimed places and given a chance to go to halfway houses or to alcoholic detoxification units. At the moment, although there are such programs, I would want to argue that the programs are not sufficient. I hope that, in due course, the outcome of the use of this kind of money in this kind of way is that we go not merely from one per 100 to 0.5 per 100 but even further.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (3.29): I noted that Dr Kinloch, in his opening remarks, said that he was constrained by the forms of the house in the way that he structured this MPI and that perhaps it could have been better phrased. Indeed it could, because the view of this house should not be to discuss the alleged "failure of the Follett Government to consult properly with the people of the ACT on the recovery and disbursement of the excess premium payments", as it says on the daily program. Rather, it should be to commend the Labor Government on so swiftly drawing to a conclusion - and a successful conclusion - negotiations with the NRMA to bring back to the Canberra motorists what has been excess profit. These negotiations have well and truly brought home the bacon to the Canberra motorists.
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