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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2399 ..

Mr Humphries: There are shops in Civic other than supermarkets, some of which are open after 7 o'clock.

MS REILLY: Yes. I understand that service stations are open and I understand that their prices are very interesting. As you said in the introduction last week, the solution is not to be found just with retail hours. I think it is a pity that we are jumping the gun and looking at retail hours in isolation from the whole of the retail industry in the ACT. I suggest that members do not support these amendments.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General) (10.09): Mr Speaker, those who have opposed this legislation, I think, have to face up to a fairly serious onus which falls on their shoulders, which I do not believe anybody in this debate who opposes the legislation has yet discharged, and that is to spell out what alternatives there are that they believe should be acted upon by the Government to deal with the problem which we have addressed in this legislation. Members have, I think, acknowledged fairly widely that there is a serious crisis facing small business, particularly small business based in local neighbourhood centres in this city. We all accept that that is the case, but to date no speaker in this debate has addressed a way of solving the problems of those businesses, or even addressing the problems of those businesses, except through the proposals put forward by the Government; that is, trading hours.

Mr Speaker, I think that those in this place who say that the Government is doing the wrong thing are left in a position of having to do one of two things - either of saying that there is simply nothing that can be done, which is a proposition the Government rejects; or of saying that we have an alternative solution and then taking that solution and putting it forward in some particular way. Mr Speaker, I have not heard that yet, and I think that those opposite and on the crossbenches need to be addressing that very issue. (Quorum formed) I thank Mr Berry for providing me with an audience. Mr Speaker, there has been an unbelievable amount of nonsense spoken in this debate. The suggestion has been made, for example, that the Price Waterhouse report blows out of the water an argument that there would not be job losses arising out of this proposal. Mr Speaker, we have not seen the Price Waterhouse report, which is not particularly surprising.

Mr Moore: Why? It is just here.

MR HUMPHRIES: Thanks. We have not seen it before. Mr Speaker, as Mr Berry is walking over, perhaps he can tell me who commissioned the report.

Mr Berry: I would not have a clue.

MR HUMPHRIES: He says that he would not have a clue. I think Mr Berry would have a clue. I think Mr Berry probably knows, because of the news release which appears on the front: "ASI releases independent assessment of Carnell Government's trading hours policy". That is the Australian Supermarket Institute. Thank you, Wayne. You may go now.

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