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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 10 Hansard (4 September) . . Page.. 3104 ..

MR OSBORNE (continuing):

locked into. Just speaking about the Hyperdome, I know the majority of the people in the food court, for example, have been there since day one and have struggled while the Hyperdome has struggled. They are the ones that have paid top rent. All of a sudden, when trade picks up in the Hyperdome and some of the big franchises come in, they find that they are paying exorbitant amounts of rent while places like Hungry Jacks and a few others have been offered discounted rents. These landlords, such as Leda, have fought tooth and nail against these small operators to stop them having any right of access to the Tenancy Tribunal.

I have to say, Mr Speaker, in summing up, that I think this is a very fair amendment that Mr Moore has proposed. I am yet to hear any decent argument from the heroes of small business as to why they would not support it. I cannot wait until tomorrow when they stand up in this place and claim to be the only people in this house who really care about small business operators. I think you should be ashamed of yourself, Mr Humphries. I do not know how you can go home at night and look at yourself in the mirror. Mr Speaker, I want to congratulate Mr Moore for this amendment and the Greens for the very valid points that Ms Horodny raised. I think that the Liberal-Labor coalition is lumped together once again. I would like to know how many landlords make contributions to major parties within this Territory. I look forward to hearing what Mr Humphries has to say tomorrow when he comes out on the front foot for his friends in small business. I bet Norm and Manuel are here tomorrow, saying that they cannot get by without this. As I said, Mr Humphries, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. I will be supporting this very compassionate amendment from Mr Moore.

MR HUMPHRIES (Attorney-General and Minister for Consumer Affairs): I seek leave to make some additional remarks.

Mr Osborne: No.

MR HUMPHRIES: It will be a very short statement.

Mr Osborne: Okay.

Leave granted.

MR HUMPHRIES: I thank Mr Osborne for his change of mind. Mr Speaker, the issue which was raised and which I mentioned in my remarks was about not having heard from any tenants who claim to be ousted from bringing actions because of the existing state of the law. I think I said I have not heard from any tenants at all who are in that position. I should correct my statement. I have had a conversation with one person who runs a company in Canberra, who is both a landlord and a tenant and who has argued that he is unable to bring actions under the legislation because of the way in which the legislation is worded. Mr Moore's Bill would rectify this. But he remains the only person who is in that position. I have asked members of organisations like CARTA and the National Federation of Independent Business, who operate in the ACT, to bring other cases before me so that I can get a feel for what kind of deficiency there is in the law; but I have not been overwhelmed by those sorts of cases yet. I remain open to hear what they are, but I have not heard from them.

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