Page 161 - Week 01 - Thursday, 9 April 1992
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The Labor Party, at its conference last year, resolved that a Labor government should look at petrol price control. I announced to this Assembly, when we came into government, that Labor would do just that. We tabled a draft Bill in November last year to provide a mechanism whereby the Government could intervene in the market and set a price for petrol. It is significant that, since the Government announced its intention to move into the market if it saw that there were continuing problems, we have not had a repetition of the rapid increase in petrol prices. On the June long weekend, before the Government had made its clear statement, there were problems - something like a 6c movement. In subsequent holiday and peak demand periods since the Labor Government expressed its intention to act if the market is irresponsible, we have not seen the market respond in that way.
In addition to the price control possibility, we are also having ongoing discussions with Mr Wood's planning officials and community groups and industry about increasing competition. There are some disturbing aspects of the petrol market in Canberra. In the Tuggeranong Valley, for example, we have now a virtual monopoly, and that is not a healthy situation; so we are looking at moves to open up the market to provide better competition.
Mr Cornwell: Put it into some of the primary schools.
MR CONNOLLY: No, Mr Cornwell, we are not going to put it in primary schools.
ACTION - Meal Allowance Payments
MR DE DOMENICO: My question without notice is directed to Mr Connolly in his capacity as the Minister responsible in this house for the industrial relations practices of ACTION. Seeing that he confirmed on the front page of the Canberra Times this morning that he was aware of the Auditor-General's suggestion of illegal payments to the tune of $110,000 annually to ACTION employees, what action did the Minister take to stamp out this rort, and what action did he take to recover the money paid out thus far?
MR CONNOLLY: I seem to be rather busy this afternoon. Yes, I was aware that the Auditor-General last year reported that a number of meal payments had been made that were illegal in the sense that they had not been authorised by the relevant award. We looked at the matter. It was apparent that the meal payments had been being made for many years - we expect, about 10 years. They were payments similar to payments that are made under awards throughout a range of industries. We took the matter into the Industrial Relations Commission and the view was that it was a reasonable payment.
A meal allowance is hardly a rort, Mr De Domenico; it is a reasonable work practice. Indeed, members of your staff who work in this Assembly on late night sittings are entitled to a meal allowance. You may think that that is a rort and cut them off a meal allowance. We will be happy to give them a sandwich up on the fifth floor if you want to deny them their meal allowance. Meal allowances are a legitimate claim for workers. There is nothing rorting about workers getting meal allowance.
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