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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 532 ..

MR MOORE (continuing):

We have it very specifically set out. My understanding is that there may be a couple of awards that, unfortunately - and it is very clear - cannot be included in that because they are inconsistent. If that is the case, let us test it.

Mr Speaker, I think this is actually a very important piece of legislation, because this is a time for this Assembly to say whether we are actually prepared to keep going down this path of undermining where workers are. That is why it is that I began my speech as I did. We are dealing with a 40-hour week and the number of people who are now working 60- or 80-hour weeks and saying to ourselves, "Let us as a society, because that is our role in this Assembly, say, `Where are we going to stop the rot? When are we actually going to say it is time for us to look at what we are doing in terms of chasing what is always put in dollar terms?' ".

This was put by Mr Kaine and by interjection from the Chief Minister: "Can we afford this? Can we as a community afford it?". I think it is time for us to also ask, "Can we as a community afford to have people not having fun?". That is the fundamental that is coming through. We see it today in a series of other issues. Wherever there is a situation where people are having fun, Mr Humphries is looking around for a way to say, "We should not have fun like that. We should have fun only the way I think we should have fun. You cannot go and have a picnic over by the lake. People are drinking throughout the morning. You cannot let people have fun the way they want to do it". Here is one that I disagree with: "You cannot have people going to topless bars and so on. Oh, no, you cannot do that", and so on. The wowser elements are coming through. Your response to this is part of that whole wowsering. Well, people have a chance to have a bit of fun on a Monday. I reckon they should be able to have their picnic and their party. I wish them all the best. I hope they have a bloody good time.

MRS CARNELL (Chief Minister) (11.43): Mr Speaker, is it not ironic that the day after the Auditor-General's report talking about the Assembly's and the Territory's affordability gap we are debating a Bill, introduced by the Labor Party, to increase - and it is an increase - the number of paid holidays? Is it not also interesting that Mr Moore is very happy to stand up in this place, after we have had a discussion about how important it is to address the affordability gap, and say that what we should not be doing in this Assembly and this community is attempting to address the very real problems that the Auditor-General laid out very clearly in the report presented yesterday? We have heard a lot in recent weeks about consultation, about arrogance and about listening to the people. Most of it has come from those opposite. I have had Mr Berry and, for that matter, Mr Whitecross, day after day, lecturing me about the importance of consultation, about the importance of not being arrogant and about whether I and, for that matter, the Government have been listening to people.

This Bill displays that exact arrogance that they have been talking about. It displays a lack of consultation and an unwillingness by Mr Berry, Mr Whitecross and members of this Assembly to listen to what the people of Canberra are saying.

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