Page 435 - Week 02 - Thursday, 14 May 1992
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(2) Consents to the making, by the Commonwealth, of:
(a) amendments to the National Road Transport Commission Act 1991 of the Commonwealth to extend the role of the Commission; and
(b) the Commonwealth Light Vehicle Transport Legislation.
MR WESTENDE (10.33): Madam Speaker, the Opposition has no objection to the Government seeking to amend the National Road Transport Commission Act 1991. We agree that it is necessary, wherever possible, to have identical laws within the States and Territories. It was the right action to take this approach with heavy vehicles and it is clearly the right action to take with light vehicles.
Uniform laws in all areas of transport will create efficiencies, reduce waste, create a better understanding between drivers and businesses, and simplify operations with interstate operators. It will facilitate ease of trade between the States and Territories, and, Madam Speaker, in this regard, it will be of great benefit to fostering growth within our region.
We would assume that, once the Assembly has given its consent to the extension of the role of the National Road Transport Commission, we will see the legislation in this chamber to enable the Commonwealth to develop both the National Road Transport Commission Act 1991 and the Commonwealth light vehicle transport legislation so that the Commonwealth may proceed to the agreement as discussed in the Chief Minister's statement.
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (10.35): This is a very important proposal that the Chief Minister has brought forward. It really is part of this Government's commitment to micro-economic reform - one of the issues on which our colleagues opposite are wont to bleat frequently, and yet something on which they seem to have difficulty in bringing forward any concrete results. Their period in government was marked by a failure to achieve micro-economic reform, a failure to achieve what they consistently tell us to achieve, and that is a reduction in the operating costs of government enterprises, a reduction in the size of ACT government.
We saw, quite notoriously, some government enterprises, such as ACTION, massively increase operating costs when the Liberals had stewardship of this Territory. We saw the ACT budget expanding while the Liberals had stewardship of this Territory. Now we see, through reform, through better use of government resources, Labor managing well, achieving reductions and achieving efficiencies.
Transport is an area in which we must have reform. Nine sets of law, as the Chief Minister indicated, and as Mr Westende endorsed, are inefficient. We must achieve this level of uniformity and we must achieve it swiftly. There are real benefits that will flow through to every citizen. Transport costs make up a substantial part of the cost of providing goods and services. A substantial part of the cost of that jar of Chinese barbecue sauce that Mr Humphries was brandishing in the chamber yesterday would have been the transport cost of moving that jar into Australia. We prefer to purchase Australian-made goods, of course - the Labor Party supports local industry - but Mr Humphries contributed to our balance of payments deficit by purchasing an imported connoisseur item. That is fine, but there was obviously cost in getting that jar from Sydney to Canberra.
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