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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 13 Hansard (5 December) . . Page.. 4516 ..

Ms Horodny: Where is the proof of that?

MR DE DOMENICO: Where is the proof? The proof, Ms Horodny, is that, if you support this Bill right now and do not lobby to send it to an Assembly committee, we could perhaps start tomorrow or the day after or very shortly. But no; we will support sending it to a committee, just to satisfy you, Ms Horodny. But please do not come into this place and accuse driving instructors, people from the NRMA, the Government and everybody else who moves of being either corrupt or capable of being corrupt. You have no proof of that either, with the greatest of respect. If you have, table that proof and we will act upon it.

Ms Horodny: There is a potential.

MR DE DOMENICO: I am not interested in potential things. You table the proof of your accusations. You have gone all over the media and attempted to slur the competency of driving instructors in this town without one skerrick of evidence, but I will not comment on the things that you have said in the media.

Let us get to the facts. I am glad that the Opposition has agreed to support the Bill in principle. The work was started off by Mr Lamont, the Deputy Chief Minister in Ms Follett's Government, copying very fine work done in South Australia by a previous Labor government. Ms Horodny's talk about privatising and all sorts of things on competition policy is absolute bunkum and nonsense.

Ms Horodny: No, it is not.

MR DE DOMENICO: If you want to come in here and spout Green ideological rubbish, do so; but do not expect me to stand up and agree with you. Pardon me for getting so angry, Ms Horodny, but I must admit that some of the stuff you said was - - -

Mrs Carnell: It is frustration.

MR DE DOMENICO: It is just frustration at some of the nonsense that I hear coming from the crossbenches. There is a strong and growing consensus amongst the driver licensing authorities across the board in Australia that a continuous assessment of driver competencies over time is likely to be more effective in producing a safe novice driver than is the one-off practical driving test. That is not said by me, not by bureaucrats, but by people out in the field who are testing, doing nothing except instructing - - -

Ms Horodny: Why does the NRMA not support that?

MR DE DOMENICO: Ms Horodny, with the greatest of respect, I did listen to you - very painfully, but in silence. I would expect the same courtesy from you.

The people out there doing this every day, day in and day out, tell us that in their opinion it is likely to be more effective in producing a safe novice driver than is the one-off practical driving test. Not wanting to believe that, this Government offers choice, as did the South Australian Labor Government, so we have that covered as well.

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