Page 3873 - Week 15 - Tuesday, 15 December 1992
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good one. It is what is going to happen in the rest of the country; but no, let us take 14 steps backwards. Let us go back into the good old days of the old socialism. Let us make it into a socialistic experiment. Because something run very well like a private sector organisation happens to be providing a profit to the ACT community, you cannot have that. We have to change things, without talking to anybody.
Mr Berry, let me tell you that we will be very interested in seeing what sort of legislation you bring before this house. Hopefully, you will tell the house first, before it is leaked to the Canberra Times. I can assure you that, unless you can provide very good reasons why things should be changed, we will not be supporting your legislation.
MR MOORE (3.36): Mr Deputy Speaker, when the proposed legislation is before us is really the time to be debating the issues that have been raised by Mr De Domenico, in particular, this afternoon. I shall be looking forward to the time when that legislation is tabled so that we can debate the issue, but I will give some indication of my thoughts now. There seems to be a rush by conservative governments, almost worldwide, to sell off the things that are profitable and to retain in government the things that are unprofitable.
Mr Kaine: That is the conservative Labor Government in Western Australia.
MR MOORE: I said "conservative". I did not say from which side of the Australian parties. I find it quite interesting that here we have what seems to me to be a move to bring something quite profitable back into the public realm. I will be very interested to see the arguments presented by Mr Berry and by Mr De Domenico.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (3.37), in reply: If you listened to Mr De Domenico, we are creating some sort of ACTTAB gulag or something - whatever you like to call it. That is just nonsense. This enterprise is a good money-spinner for government and we are working to make it a better money-spinner. It is true that ACTTAB provides a service to the racing industry by way of funds through the Racecourse Development Fund, and that has been primarily responsible for the high standard of racing facilities that we have in the Territory. That Racecourse Development Fund will continue.
ACTTAB itself is in a position to provide a dividend to government and we will be seeking to improve that dividend where possible. It is most important that governments which intend to keep the silver, not sell it off, indicate that the family silver is to be kept within the family. This is an enterprise which is of significance to the Australian Capital Territory Government. I have to say that it is an enterprise that has performed well. All of the board members are to be congratulated for their effort, as well as the chief executive officer, Mr Neck.
We expect a long and improving relationship to develop with ACTTAB under the changes which are proposed, with more and more being provided for the Territory, not only for the Territory's budget but for the racing industry. They are positive changes. They will indicate to the people of the Australian Capital Territory that it is clearly a body which is theirs. It is owned by the people of the Territory. It is not the case, as Mr De Domenico says, that everybody in Australia is going to go the way that ACTTAB is currently. That is not the case and he should not say that, because it is misleading.
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