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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 8 Hansard (27 June) . . Page.. 2438 ..

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (12.27 am): Very briefly, unlike just about everybody else this evening, it is actually Liberal Party policy to have sunset clauses in all legislation - - -

Ms McRae: You have discovered some new policy. Terrific.

MRS CARNELL: No, no; on all legislation that is not of an ongoing nature necessarily, Mr Speaker.

Mr Whitecross: Say that again?

Mr Berry: So not only is the legislation a dud; the Liberal Party is a dud as well.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MRS CARNELL: Mr Speaker, it is Liberal Party policy because we believe that parliaments should relook at legislation regularly. We believe that we should not end up in parliament with legislation that just adds on all the time. Whether those opposite like it or not, as you would know, Mr Speaker, sunset clauses in legislation have been party policy for a number of years. We believe, Mr Speaker, that there are often situations like this one where sunset clauses are a good idea.

Many people have said in this house today that somehow this whole deal would not work; that it would not do what it was supposed to do. Well, all of those people who have said that should support a sunset clause to have a look at it. The same people who have said that it will not work have tended to go on and say, "Shock, horror! We will lose thousands of jobs, people's property values will be reduced, and all sorts of things will happen". That is a very interesting approach by the people who just two seconds before said that the whole thing will not work, Mr Speaker.

Mr Speaker, the Greens have said regularly that they do not believe this goes far enough. Those opposite have said that they do not believe in regulation of trading hours at all. I am not quite sure what Mr Moore and Mr Osborne have said, but I think they said a bit of both. What this clause will do, Mr Speaker, is allow this Assembly or the next one, if it is substantially different, to have another look at this legislation to see if it has done what we hope it will do, or whether the Greens are right and it should be ramped up further, that it should be more restrictive, or whether the Labor Party is right and we should not have regulation at all. I think that is a very appropriate approach and a very democratic approach, Mr Speaker.

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (12.29 am): Mr Speaker, it is refreshing to hear Mrs Carnell inform us that it is Liberal Party policy to have a sunset clause in all legislation because she introduced 10 pieces of legislation today, and we passed four pieces of legislation earlier today, none of which had sunset clauses. In fact, this sunset clause came in as a little amendment only this afternoon. So, Mr Speaker, it is refreshing to hear that in the last couple of hours Mrs Carnell has rediscovered Liberal Party policy.

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