Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2248 ..

MS TUCKER (continuing):

Mr Speaker, the Greens believe that the retail landscape and the future of neighbourhood centres is an issue of great importance to the future of Canberrans. Other issues of lesser importance are frequently referred to a committee. All I hear are very strong political statements from the Labor Party which do not address the issues. I hear the same from Mr Moore. Mr Osborne is just focusing on one very negative, I acknowledge, and unfortunate aspect of this regulation, but has no solutions for any of these other issues. I will be very surprised to see whether Mr Moore and Mr Osborne do not support this motion for political reasons, because that is the only reason why Labor will not be doing it. I would like to see the crossbench actually acting with a little more interest for the overall outcome.

MS McRAE (11.45): What a remarkable accusation - that I will do something for a political reason. I think I will take a minute to recover from that. We will not be supporting this motion because, first of all, the Government has said, over and over again, that they are here to make decisions, to take action and to do things. Here is the architect of those words sitting in front of me, and we take them at their word. They are here to make decisions. They have made a decision. All we are hearing today is a stunt from the Greens to get them off the hook because all of a sudden they have found that the Government, that they put into power, that made a decision, has drawn them into a decision that they do not like.

Forty thousand petitioners. Whether or not the people who signed this petition went to a school and a special session to find out what it all meant before they signed it, 40,000 people have signed it, and I give them full credit for their intelligence. They understand exactly what this stupid decision of the Government is all about. It is about making Woolworths at Kippax bigger. Is it about making Woolworths bigger at another group centre. It has nothing to do with shopper convenience. It has nothing to do with small shops. It is some harebrained scheme that somebody cooked up because they could not find their way clear to deal with the real issues at hand.

I have no problem with the fact that Ms Tucker has listed a range of real issues at hand that need to be dealt with. They do need to be dealt with. But by whom, Mr Speaker? By this erstwhile Government that is there to make decisions. Another inquiry, I ask you. I ask you - - -

Mr Humphries: Erstwhile? Why are we erstwhile?

MS McRAE: I like the word. Do not worry about it.

Mr Humphries: Do you know something we do not?

MS McRAE: Do not worry; it is meant to be a compliment. I ask you: How many more inquiries are we going to have? This issue, above all others. My desk groans under the weight of the inquiries that have been held on retail space, retail hours, shopping hours, shopper preferences, big centre preferences, small centre preferences, small shops, big shops - you name it, there has been an inquiry. Now the Government has sat down and, in its wisdom, under the 17 inches of paper that were in front of it, has come up with this decision to change the retail shopping hours. What did the Greens do? "Oh", they said, "this sounds okay".

Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .