Page 4079 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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while you were in this Assembly, Mr Stefaniak. But, at least when Mr Kaine was Chief Minister and when he was the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Kaine and the party he represented were prepared to put forward a range of policies that they believed the party should pursue when - heaven forbid - they gained government.
Mr Kaine: I am still here.
MR LAMONT: Yes, but do you know what has happened since, Mr Kaine? Not only has your leader taken your policies and thrown them out; she has not had the guts to stand up in this forum - or, might I add, any other - and put on the table what your party's policies now are. I say that that is because you do not have any. All you have, Mr Kaine - and I have great sympathy with you for this - is a carper. Every time a matter such as land taxes or rates is raised, what happens? "Off the top of my head, here is the policy statement" is the answer that has been given time and time again. What about business regulation? "Off the top of my head" is the answer you get.
At least when Mr Kaine was running the ship, not only Government members and the Independent members in this place but also the community could have a look at those policies. They could pick them to pieces where they saw fit; and they could compliment you where they agreed with them and they could understand what they meant. What is going to happen with this alleged alternative government? Mrs Carnell will wait, probably until the last week, probably until the last 20 minutes, when she will be able to do it off the top of her head again. We will get the Liberal Party policy on small business, government regulation, the public service and health. I am yet to hear what your policy is for the small business sector in the health area. You do not have one. Your last small business health program saw you closing down one of the largest organisations in the public sector health area in the ACT.
The $17m man is absent this afternoon, probably still licking his wounds from this morning. Let us have a look at the things he was going to do to assist small business. Again, it will be a very short exercise. On the one hand we have, as Mr Stevenson has pointed out, a raft of, in my view, quite proper business regulation - business regulation which is similar in most cases to that which applies in other States. We can argue about whether it is less or more. We can argue about whether it is applied in the right circumstances or not. I agree that we can have those arguments on matters of justice, equity, applicability and so forth. But the argument you cannot have, Mr Stevenson, is that we have a plethora of regulations that do not apply to business interstate.
I notice that we have in the Assembly this afternoon a person who has called for regulation of one of the largest small business areas in the ACT, that of retail tenancies. Here it is, Mr Stevenson. I have read about him in the newspaper over the last couple of weeks, bemoaning and chiacking the Government about what it does and how it operates the regulations; but, along with people in this chamber on that side of the house, he has called for further regulation of small business. I happen to believe that the retail tenancy code is an appropriate way to proceed; but I regard as absolute hypocrisy what I have heard this afternoon, particularly from Mr Stefaniak, about this terrible red tape.
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