Page 5824 - Week 18 - Tuesday, 10 December 1991
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With the requirements of ever increasing regulations, I think many businesses are being absolutely snowed under by government control. One wonders why it is not okay for businesses not to be regulated by government. Why does there have to be an ever increasing heavy hand of government control in every single aspect of many businesses? Why are so many businesses in this day and age unable to continue? They are operating under what has become perhaps the major liability of running any business in Australia, and that is the consequence of regulation and the taxes brought about by governments.
Yet governments tell us, "It is unfortunate that so many people are out of work; it is unfortunate that so many people are losing their homes; it is unfortunate that so many people are losing their businesses; it is unfortunate that so many people are losing their farms. I wonder what we can do to help this. Let us bring in some more regulations. Let us increase the taxes. That way, as we create more and more of the new poor, we will be able to get more money to look after them in this increasingly welfare state".
MR COLLAERY (8.37): I just looked up "Gas" in the Hansard index, and I came up with one of the most amusing exchanges this house has ever had. I will read it into the record. It is at page 2586. On 8 August 1990 Mr Jensen asked the Chief Minister, then Mr Kaine, whether the Alliance Government was considering the introduction of a gas franchise fee which, as Mr Jensen said, would result in a significant increase in ACT gas prices. I do not think this was a dorothy dix question, by the look of the answer. Mr Kaine said:
No formal legislation has been put in place yet to ensure the safe and economic supply of natural gas to the ACT, despite the fact that natural gas was introduced here nine years ago. It is a priority of this Government to rectify that unsatisfactory situation as soon as possible. The previous Labor Government - specifically Mr Whalan, their best performer -
Then came an interjection:
Ms Follett: Your best mate - your only mate, possibly.
Mr Kaine said:
He was -
and so on and so forth. I invite members to read it. It is quite interesting. Mr Kaine went on to state that when the Alliance Government came to power in December he supported and strengthened Mr Whalan's initiative by conferring necessary board of inquiry powers on a working
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