Page 3470 - Week 11 - Thursday, 14 October 1993
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MR HUMPHRIES: Oh, in 1989. There was a use-by date on that promise. It should have had a little footnote, as they do on TV ads, saying "This is a limited offer only. It expires in three years' time. We will bill you. Send no money". Goodness me! You cannot masquerade as the friend of consumers one day and be their collector of tax the next.
Madam Speaker, when the Alliance Government raised the business franchise fee on petrol in 1990 it pledged that it would be for a fixed two-year period to pay for hospital redevelopment. At the time the Labor Opposition predicted that it would become a permanent feature of Canberra's taxation system. Ms Follett got on the radio and the television and she said, "This Government will not take that tax off after two years; they will keep it going. Aren't they nasty". Of course, Madam Speaker, she was right. The Government did leave the tax on petrol. But, of course, she did not mention that it was not the Alliance Government which was to do that; it was her own Government. She knew, she could predict accurately, what was going to happen because she had it in her own mind to do that very same thing. In Labor's eyes, Madam Speaker, the Government had no intention of repealing the determination of fees after two years. It is this Labor Government which has refused to reduce the petrol franchise fee in line with the commitment given by Mr Kaine in 1990, and it is this Labor Government which has increased the price of petrol yet again. When it comes to the crunch they see the consuming public of Canberra as milch cows.
Madam Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition pledged to Canberrans in her address in reply to the budget that the Liberal Party would take a stand for Canberra motorists by opposing this most recent increase. This motion shows our commitment to lowering the tax that governments levy on petrol. No-one doubts the need to raise some revenue from petrol sales. The Labor governments have systematically ripped off Canberra motorists without addressing the real need for cheaper prices. Let me quote what Ms Follett, the champion of the motorists, said on 13 September 1990 when talking about the people paying additional petrol prices:
Those Canberrans are already facing enormous price hikes, along with the price uncertainty associated with the Middle East crisis. We should also remember that, whether we like it or not, Canberra has been built for cars. Our public transport system at this point is not adequate.
It is hardly more adequate today, is it? She continued:
While this Government has talked a lot about improving public transport, it has done very little other than put up the bus fares. We must remember, when listening to this lazy Government, that talk is cheap.
Well, you have not been lazy. You have been very proactive when it comes to increasing petrol prices; I give you that much. Madam Speaker, instead of getting cheaper petrol prices, all we have got from this Government is higher tax. Today is the day to stand up against those progressive increases and higher tax.
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