Page 3625 - Week 12 - Thursday, 13 October 1994
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Recommendation 3 was:
The Government establish a scheme to provide compensation to those service station operators and others who can demonstrate financial loss as a direct result of the Government's decision to grant preferential access to the Canberra fuel market to Burmah and to lease three sites to 'eligible independents'.
The Government notes that it has no legal liability to pay such compensation; but I believe that it is the view of members of the Public Accounts Committee in relation to this matter that perhaps consideration could be given to the payment of some compensation to the small business men and women who have been so adversely affected by the changes which have occurred in the ACT. I take Mr Kaine's point that it was the Government's intention to affect the operation of the major oil companies in the ACT. Mr Kaine has indicated that he believes that the Government has failed to do that in relation to the changes that it is making to petrol arrangements in the ACT. I agree with that. I think it is extremely unfortunate that it is small business men and women who have borne the brunt of the Government's initiatives in this area, in terms of lowering petrol prices for consumers, which I wholeheartedly support.
Recommendation 4 of the committee was:
The Government flesh out the details of its policy on further independents in light of the immediately preceding recommendation, and advise the Assembly accordingly, before issuing leases to operators of the three sites already identified.
As Mr Kaine pointed out in his remarks, the Government had not tabled that documentation. I believe that Mr Kaine did so a few minutes ago. I believe that, if the information was available to people only after the closing date for the receipt of submissions, that is extremely regrettable.
Mr Kaine: Some of it was not available for a fortnight afterwards.
MS SZUTY: Yes. I think that is more than regrettable; it is absolutely inexcusable. There really is no point in the Government issuing such documents for comment if it has no realistic expectation that comments on that documentation will be received so that it can then act on them. Recommendation 5 was:
The Government investigate the effect of national fuel supply arrangements with a view to assessing the most appropriate arrangements to secure the lowest possible fuel price in Canberra; that the Government make a statement to the Assembly about the results of such assessment; and that the Government actively seek to persuade the Commonwealth Government (if the assessment demonstrates that existing arrangements are not optimal) to change existing arrangements.
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