Page 2334 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 22 June 1994
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efficiency there through the commonality of many of the functions and public sector reforms. They can enjoy the benefits of being brought within the public sector reform agenda which will be applied across the board. There is also, importantly, equity for the staff involved. I think that is an important issue, as is the issue of their careers and the increased mobility that those staff will have when they are brought under the Bill.
Madam Speaker, ACTTAB is a monopoly operator in this Territory. It is a very significant source of government revenue. I believe that the Government has a legitimate role to play in its management through our employment policies, much as we do in any other area of policy. The six months' delay in proclaiming the ACTTAB provisions in the consequential provisions Bill will allow the Government to fully consider the implications of the Pearce report, and that will include the administrative and employment aspects of ACTTAB's own operations. ACTTAB employs only some 30 full-time workers, only about 30 staff, and for that reason, because it is small, I do not believe that it is in their best interests for ACTTAB to be made an autonomous instrumentality. It has much less diversity of workers and they are primarily office based workers. I believe that giving them the opportunity for greater mobility is very much to their advantage.
Mrs Carnell also raised the issue of the International Hotel School. Again we see an attempt by the Leader of the Opposition to spoil the efforts by the Government to provide a best outcome for this Territory. We see it over and over again with Mrs Carnell. The Opposition's amendment, Madam Speaker, would declare the hotel school to be an autonomous instrumentality - cut and dried, done, over with today. That would mean, first of all, that the agency would not be staffed under this legislation. I do not know why you would want to take that decision today, and I do not believe that members ought to. The Government's position is that we have not included the hotel school within the Bill because we need to conclude current negotiations with Cornell University. We will review our position at the conclusion of those negotiations.
Mrs Carnell wants to make it cut and dried today. She wants to take the decision today. She does not care what the impact is on that contract. Madam Speaker, it is certainly not a case of the Government saving up to spring some surprise on Cornell. Quite the contrary. That is exactly what the Liberals are trying to do. I simply make the point that, in respect of the hotel school, the inclusion of the staff within the new service is simply not a matter that we should decide or need to decide today. It is not the right time. The amendment proposed by the Opposition would change nothing and would preserve nothing, in fact, because we would have to legislate to bring in the hotel school staff. We will be opposing Mrs Carnell's amendment, and in doing so I believe that we will be acting in the best interests of tying up the future of the hotel school with Cornell University. That is a proposition that the Government will be pursuing actively.
Finally, Madam Speaker, Mrs Carnell referred to the Fire Brigade and why they are being left out of the service. They are being left out for one year. Let us be very clear about that as well. The Government's intentions are abundantly clear. The Fire Brigade will be coming under the jurisdiction of this Bill. Madam Speaker, we have decided not to bring them in immediately, as we have for ACTTAB and the hotel school. The Opposition, who do not even want to debate this Bill, want all of these bodies dealt with today, with no consideration. Madam Speaker, their position is absolutely two-faced, and that is why they are squirming and screaming the way that they are.
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