Page 2538 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 23 August 1994
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Ms Follett: His job is to collect the taxes, not to help your mates avoid them.
MR HUMPHRIES: Again this question arises: If there is legislation in this Territory which prevents someone from crossing the border to buy their fuel in New South Wales, ought not the commissioner have been able to say, "Yes, this is the provision which prevents them from doing so."? Let us forget about politicians for a moment. Pretend that one of us is a consumer of diesel fuel out in the community. The consumer hears this debate going on in the Assembly and he sees the Opposition saying that it is not illegal and the Government saying that it is illegal to go to New South Wales. He is confused. He wants to know what the story is. Should he not be able, as an ordinary citizen, to go to the tax office and say, "Can you tell me what law of the Territory prevents me from doing this? Can you tell me which provision it is in the law, so that I can look at it to see whether the proposed conduct I want to engage in will render me a criminal"? That is a perfectly legitimate request. Anybody asking that question should be able to get a positive answer to it.
I think, Madam Speaker, that the Estimates Committee has made an extremely important point here. Citizens ought to be able to know under what law of the Territory it is that they are accused of breaking the law. These people across the way have been saying, "You break the law by crossing the border and buying your fuel in New South Wales", and they cannot say how or why.
Mr Kaine: It is only because they say so.
MR HUMPHRIES: It is only because they say so. That is entirely and utterly unsatisfactory. I repeat the assertion I made before - that the Chief Minister was perfectly happy to see this approach by the commissioner take place. Her defence appears to be, "I did not condone Mr Faichney's conduct", by quoting that reference to "Hear, hear" and saying, "I was only making reference to a particular comment that he made immediately before that". I draw members' attention to the fact that that answer by Mr Faichney was in response to this question of mine:
... can you refer to a provision in the law which allows you to stop that happening?
That is, crossing the border and buying the fuel. Mr Faichney said:
I do not see why I should make it easier for tax cheats to avoid ACT - evade ACT tax.
Why should he not be able to tell that to anybody? Why should he not be able to tell us? Is it not our right to know that? If I say to Mr Wood, "You are breaking the law by driving your car at 60 miles an hour down the Tuggeranong Parkway", and I happen to be in a position of authority, should I not be able to satisfy his request to know which law he is breaking? Of course I should be in that position. Madam Speaker, the Chief Minister did condone what Mr Faichney said; indeed, she encouraged what he said, and the Government itself must face this question. (Extension of time granted)
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