Page 6040 - Week 18 - Thursday, 12 December 1991
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in which the Rally ever had to compromise was on the Royal Canberra Hospital and - through you, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker - so did you, Mr Berry. Pick another area in which we have compromised. Despite the fact that we had 32 Bills prepared, we went out of government.
Mr Moore: You moved the motion to close six schools.
MR COLLAERY: Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, will you save me from the voice from the pillar?
MADAM TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order, Mr Moore!
MR COLLAERY: Thank you. The Labor Party said, in its election policy, that a major revenue initiative is to increase the maximum rate of betterment tax from 50 to 100 per cent and to improve the enforcement of tax. Mr Kaine is smiling because the other day in the house the Labor Party argued against a 100 per cent betterment tax; they argued against their own policy. You just heard Ms Follett talk about sticking to election policies.
I can go right through this. On schools, Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, we had the same policy as the Labor Party, which was entitled "School Closure". Where a community can no longer support a school it will not close - that was the effect of it - without community consultation. The Rally bit the bullet and went out of government over the school closure issue.
Mr Moore: You were booted out of government. You were sacked.
MR COLLAERY: Madam Temporary Deputy Speaker, I will agree with that interjection: We were sacked. If I could go on with the issue, we have said that there is a Labor-Liberal coalition in this town. We have indicated that a good Liberal Party would not have opened a casino in this town at this time because up to 20 out of the 67 clubs will close. When I was Minister, 12 were trading marginally; my advice is that up to 20 are now in a marginal situation, and sadly we saw Daramalan close this week. Twenty will close; there is an average of 10 employees at each club; that is a total of 200 employees. But the Chief Minister suggested that there would be an immediate boost to employment. What a farce! On the Labor Party's own parameters this decision is suspect. They are not good managers in relation to this matter.
But let me come to the broad sweep of the issue. Do we, as Australians, in this national capital, want to have the glitzy showbiz of a casino?
Mr Humphries: Yes.
MR COLLAERY: Mr Humphries interjected and said yes. I am glad that he is on the record for that. That will do him good if he has even a chance, because this debate will be distributed far and wide. I do not believe that in our
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