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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 2 Hansard (27 February) . . Page.. 533 ..

Mr Berry: We are. They want the day off.

MRS CARNELL: How do you know? Quite seriously, how do you know? Have you asked the staff at the shops around town? Have you asked the people? Of course they have not been asked. Mr Berry is demanding that this Assembly vote on a Bill in respect of which he has allowed us less than 48 hours in which to consider the ramifications.

We have already heard Mr Moore say, "This legal advice has said that they have not had time to look at all the awards". Well, no wonder they have not had time! They had yesterday. They had one day to actually be able to look at the relevant pieces of legislation, all of the bits and pieces that they needed to look at, to come up with an advice. They have made it clear that 24 hours or 36 hours was not enough time to look at every piece of possible advice, legislation and awards. That would tend to indicate immediately that there has not been time.

Why was there not time? The Industrial Relations Commission brought down their finding on 10 January, to my knowledge. Why did not Mr Berry - or, for that matter, the unions or whatever - come out on the 11th and say he was going to move this motion? Why did he not come out on the 17th or the 24th? Why 48 hours ago? Why has there not been time - I agree there has not been time to get proper legal advice - to allow our lawyers and others to look at all of the ramifications? Why has there not been time to speak to all of the people that it is likely to affect?

As we heard from Mr Kaine, the consequences of this legislation, if passed, are likely to cause this Assembly considerable embarrassment and considerable cost. Mr Berry has not consulted with those people with whom he should have consulted, with whom he would have had to consult if Ms McRae's approach to consultation were passed in this Assembly. Their approach means an absolute necessity to consult with all of the people that a Bill may affect. The reality is that people who are likely to be affected by this legislation have not been consulted; that is, Canberra's small businesses, Canberra's employers and, for that matter, Canberra's employees. Certainly, Mr Berry might have consulted with a couple of his union colleagues. But if it is suggested for a moment that that is representative of the employees and the employers who will be affected by this, I tell you what: If that is the consultation bar that this Assembly is setting up for the Government, we can lower our standards significantly. But the fact is we will not, because, if consultation means just speaking to the few people or the few groups that agree with you and then running with it, I tell you what, Mr Speaker: That is a very unusual approach to consultation and one that, of course, we will remind this Assembly that they have supported quite openly here.

Mr Speaker, the people we are talking about here are those small business people and those employers whose businesses will be hurt - and it will do that - and who have not been asked by the Assembly about this. It will hurt their business; there is no doubt about that. It will also send the wrong messages at a time when we need incentives to create jobs and keep our overheads down. For Mr Berry to not even speak to representatives of the business community who will have less than 48 hours now -

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