Page 3000 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 September 1994
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Madam Speaker, I will leave the Government and the dissenting members to defend their position shortly. Finally, Mrs Grassby said in connection with the remuneration of franchisees:
During private discussions with franchisees, they said that they were sucked in to these deals and there was no way they could get out.
They must have been private discussions that Mrs Grassby had outside the committee.
Mr De Domenico: Were they in Hall or Belconnen?
MR KAINE: I do not know; but I can only assume that they were private discussions that Mrs Grassby had with people outside the committee. If that is the case, she has no right to put that comment in what purports to be a committee report. As a committee member, I had no private discussions with franchisees in which they said that. So, it has to be evidence that Mrs Grassby received outside the committee proceedings, and that comment has no place in this report. So, I do have some difficulty with some aspects of the dissenting reports. I acknowledge that the members have a right to submit them; but, when they do, just as in the majority report, their comments have to be based on the evidence that was presented, not on assumption or suspicion. As far as I can tell, many of these remarks were not based on evidence that was presented.
Madam Speaker, I repeat that it was not the intention to pillory the Minister. We believe that he was well intentioned. We simply believe that his decision went off the rails somewhere and that the outcome is not what he would have wanted. We are attempting, with what I believe to be reasonable, logical and reasoned recommendations, to suggest to the Minister that there are other things that he could and perhaps should be doing before he proceeds further. I hope that the Government will read the report carefully, that they will take it in the spirit in which it is intended and that we will see a far better outcome for some of our small business people than has been the case up until now.
MS ELLIS (12.31): I want to make a couple of comments at the outset, before I get into the business of my dissenting report and the committee report in general. I make these remarks without making any particular accusations against anybody in specific terms; but I believe that it is a great pity that the discussion in the media on the views and the results of this committee report, before the chair of the committee had the opportunity to table it here today, occurred. I noted comments in the paper and on the radio this morning from the Leader of the Opposition, who happens to be a member of this committee. I do not believe that, in participating in that public media discussion, she has paid due regard to the other members of the committee. I felt strongly enough about that to mention it at the outset here this afternoon. I do not believe that it would reflect at all well on this place or on our committees if we all took that sort of liberty and had an open debate in the media prior to the tabling of a report. For my part, I have responded to approaches by the media in the last few days with the comment that, until the report is on the table in this place, I have nothing to confirm, deny or add. I think it would be worthy of us all to take note of that approach in regard to the operations of this place.
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