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

Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2395 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

I doubt that they would listen. They certainly have not listened to the 84 per cent of Canberra people who favour extended shopping hours or to the 40,000-odd people who petitioned or wrote to the Government to change its mind on this issue. It almost makes you wonder whether we misread the Liberal campaign slogan at the last election.

Mr Speaker, I would like to comment briefly on Mr I-am-not-here De Domenico's tabling speech last Thursday, where he said:

Can I say also that this Government will continue to resist all this media hype that has been going on, because this Government will continue to make sure that, after the trucks from Woolworths, Coles and others come into town with groceries, they do not leave the ACT with bucketfuls of our money.

Mr Speaker, this comment alone confirms, without a shadow of a doubt, that Mr De Domenico does not know a lot about this issue - and he is the Minister for Business, although he tried to duck and weave the other day during question time. It is little wonder that they gagged him at question time on Tuesday. Perhaps Mr De Domenico could explain to us - if he decides to come back - where he thinks small local stores buy their produce from and, if does it not come from interstate, where it does come from.

The media hype that Mr De Domenico referred to has, in part, been a desperate attempt by people to hold on to their jobs. With their families and their futures on the line, Mr Speaker, who can blame them? I have met with people who are going to lose their jobs because of this stunt, and some of them have been here over the last couple of days. These people include sole income earners, people with a mortgage, people with families, mothers who stay at home with their children during the day and who can work only at night, and people trying to restart their careers. Mr Speaker, what is going to happen to them and their families? The response from the Government to these people is to ask, "What about the 600 to 1,000 small traders who have been put out of work?". The answer to this question is to consider how many jobs have been created by the growth of our supermarkets during that same time. I will wager that far more jobs have been created than have been lost.

Mr Speaker, this Bill seems to revolve round the Government, supported by the Greens, creating a glasshouse-type environment, complete with generous applications of horse manure, for a select few. While the Government's approach may be more suited to growing mushrooms, the Greens seem content with sitting back and supporting anything that might make a small business out of a large one. While that may be an innovative form of recycling, the social costs of this Bill far outweigh the benefits. Mr Speaker, the Greens seem to think that there is something inherently evil in people wanting to pay the lowest price for their food. Their response to this Bill has convinced me more than ever that they do not live in the real world. The Greens' "magnificent obsession" for our city seems to include us all wearing sheepskins and sandals, riding our bikes down to the local store for our everyday groceries. I ask: Where have they been for the last 100 years?

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