Page 4663 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 7 December 1994
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best way to know what is actually happening, or what people are saying, thinking or feeling out there. The only people we deal with on a day-to-day basis are each other, our staff, the staff of the Assembly, and constituents who come to see us. We also go to functions - something that we should do - to talk to people; but, again, that does tend to somewhat narrow the focus of the people that we talk to.
I would have assumed that everybody in this house - I would be absolutely stunned if this is not the case - would use absolutely every capacity or every opportunity that they have to speak to members of the public, average everyday members of the public; not necessarily people with a burning issue who feel that they have to make an appointment and come to the Assembly to see us. Lots of people find it quite daunting to come and see a politician. I find, as I have often said, that the times that I spend behind my counter saying, "Hello, Mrs Jones; how are the children?", or "How is your back?", or whatever, are some of the most useful times that I spend in terms of my role as a politician. I find that a time when people are willing to talk without the difficulty of having to come into an Assembly situation. It is very useful, just as I am sure that members are finding at the moment that the time they are spending in shopping centres speaking to people about the issues that affect their lives is very important. The difference is that I spend every weekend in a shopping centre, speaking to people about their concerns from 9.00 am until 1.00 pm on Saturdays, and from 9.00 am to 12 noon on Sundays. I think I am very lucky to have the opportunity to be able to do that, not just at election times but every week.
Mr Berry seems to believe that this is about making money. That shows how little he knows about what is happening to small business in Canberra at this stage. It shows that he does not understand what is happening out there in neighbourhood and group centres in Canberra. It seems that it does not matter if you are involved in charity work, it does not matter if you are involved in sporting things; but, if you are involved in anything that might make a quid, that is a real problem. I can guarantee to Mr Berry that I do not take any money out of the business, because, quite seriously, like most small businesses in Canberra at the moment, particularly in group centres and in neighbourhood centres, it is not all that easy.
Mr Berry, I do not always work for those seven hours, I must admit, because regularly I have Assembly functions on both of those mornings and I pay a reliever to do those; but when I do not have to attend Assembly functions, rather than have a sleep in or go to see the soccer, or do the other things that many of the Assembly members do - go for a run or whatever - I go to my pharmacy. If I did not do that, Mr Berry, there would go one of my part-time staff, and that is as simple as it is. You can ring my pharmacy and speak to my manager. I do have a manager who runs the business. Weekends, for me, are about making sure that all of my staff continue to have jobs; that the business continues to be able to pay its bills. And every small business person in this town at the moment would be able to back me up when I say, "It ain't easy out there". Penalty rates on Sundays are prohibitive. If I were to pay penalty rates, and I often do, as I say, if I have Assembly business, it would mean that one of my junior staff would end up either without a job or part time. Personally, my staff are my family. My staff matter. They have been with me for a long time, and I am quite willing to get up on Sunday mornings and work for three hours so that they continue to have jobs. Whether you care about that or not, I do.
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