Page 5432 - Week 17 - Tuesday, 3 December 1991
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larger motorcycles in the ACT is 59 per cent greater than the equivalent New South Wales charge, whereas the registration fee for motor cars in the ACT is only 8 per cent greater than that for New South Wales. So, there are a few problems in the logic of the comparison argument.
Looking at the motorcycle registration costs that were provided to me in answer to my question, we see that in New South Wales third-party insurance for motorbikes in excess of 250cc is $397. We all know that every vehicle in New South Wales currently has a compulsory levy of $40 because of factors related to a problem with the Government Insurance Office. Everyone has been slugged $40. We find that Mr Connolly in his argument has been trying to compare apples with grapes. That is how different they are.
Mrs Grassby: No, it is apples with pears.
MR JENSEN: In this case, Mrs Grassby, the difference is so great that I had to use apples and grapes as opposed to apples and pears. Apples and pears are almost the same size, and it is the size difference in the comparison that I am trying to get across.
Once again, we have an issue where the Minister and the Government had a perfect opportunity. When I believe that the information originally provided to me was incorrect, and any decision taken was based on that information, I am quite happy to stand up in this place and admit that I was wrong. It is a pity that a few more people in this business are not prepared to get up on their hind legs and say that they are wrong about a decision they have made. That is probably something the people of Australia, not just of the ACT, are seeking more of from their politicians.
That is why the Rally will be supporting the disallowance motion. We believe that the decision taken was wrong. It is inequitable. One of the ways around it, as Mrs Nolan has already suggested, may be to provide a very small across-the-board increase to everybody. I do not believe that people in the ACT would have any problem - I certainly would not - with an additional 50c or $1 per year on registration to cover this sort of thing. Maybe we need to have a complete relook at the whole issue of registration charges and fees on motor vehicles, particularly these days when we are seeking - - -
Mr Berry: I never heard you arguing for that when you were in government, Norm.
MR JENSEN: You would be surprised, Mr Berry. We are seeking these days to reduce the amount of fossil fuels we use. This group of citizens in the ACT and around Australia are actually reducing the amount of fossil fuels the country is using because they use motorbikes as opposed to cars. Maybe what we need to do, as they have done in a lot of other countries, is look very carefully at the size
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