Page 3475 - Week 11 - Thursday, 14 October 1993
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Mr Berry: There is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong with that?
MR DE DOMENICO: Mr Berry says, "There is nothing wrong with that". Let the record show that Mr Berry says that there is nothing wrong with the Federal Labor Government and the ACT Labor Government increasing the price of petrol to the consumers in the ACT.
Mr Berry: And that he says that it is a good tax. It is a good tax.
MR DE DOMENICO: "It is a good tax", Mr Berry is saying. Okay. You explain to the people in Tuggeranong, Mr Berry, and in your future electorate in Belconnen, if that is where you intend to stand, that you agree that you ought to increase their taxes and that it is a good tax.
Mr Berry: It is a good tax.
MR DE DOMENICO: That is wonderful. It is a good tax, and it is social justice, too, is it not, Mr Berry?
Mr Berry: It will help provide it.
MR DE DOMENICO: It will help provide social justice. Up the taxes and that improves the social justice. And who can least afford it? The very same people that Mr Berry laughs at every time he stands up here and pretends to look after them, in social justice.
Mr Deputy Speaker, I have digressed. Let us talk about the diesel fuel that Ms Follett bleated about. It is also a fact of life, Mr Deputy Speaker, that people who use off-road machinery that uses diesel fuel will be able shortly to buy their diesel fuel in Queanbeyan for 7.08c a litre less than they will be able to buy it for in the ACT. That is the fact of life that Ms Follett perhaps does not realise - or perhaps she does. It will cost 7.08c less to buy diesel fuel in Queanbeyan than in the ACT. Guess where all those companies that buy diesel fuel now are going to buy their diesel fuel. Are they going to buy it in the ACT? Of course they are not, because they will be able to get it cheaper across the border in Queanbeyan. Where will the franchise fee then go? To the New South Wales Government, not to the Government of the ACT. That is social justice for you, once again.
Let us look at Mr Connolly and what he has said over the years. Mr Connolly came in here and said, "I am the one who is going to save you; I am going to cut the cost of petrol". He was on a program before the last election, as Minister for Urban Services, and he was asked a question by the reporter, who said, "Mr Connolly, the Liberal Party has promised to remove the 3c per litre. Are you prepared to offer the same promise?". Mr Connolly did not say yes or no. He said, "That is an area that is not under my jurisdiction. You will have to ask Ms Follett that". He was not prepared to answer the question himself.
Mr Lamont: Dear, oh dear; $26m, 540 teachers.
MR DE DOMENICO: So Mr Connolly comes up here and talks about how he can reduce the price of petrol by sending the local retailers broke.
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