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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1481 ..

MR SPEAKER: I call the Chief Minister, to close the debate. I was about to say "mercifully, to close the debate".

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition): Mr Speaker, your enthusiasm for editorialising is not appreciated by all in this place.

MR SPEAKER: But enough, Mr Whitecross.

MR WHITECROSS: You might want to consult the green book about editorialising from the Chair. Mr Speaker, I rise to make a personal explanation under standing order 46, because I claim to have been misrepresented by Mr Moore.

Mrs Carnell: He did not mention your name once.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Moore indicated that the Labor Party and I myself opposed an investigation of the Gaming Machine Act under the national competition policy principles.

Mr Humphries: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: I think Mr Moore referred to the Labor Party. He did not mention Mr Whitecross at any stage. Mr Whitecross might resume his seat while I am making my point of order.

MR SPEAKER: No; he did refer to them collectively. You are quite right.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Speaker, if it will assist you and assist the house, I will seek leave to make a statement.

Leave granted.

MR WHITECROSS: Mr Humphries is obsessed with wasting the time of the house. Mr Moore, in his remarks, indicated that the Labor Party opposed the idea of an investigation of the Gaming Machine Act under the national competition policy principles. Mr Speaker, not only has no proposal like that ever been put to me until Mr Moore raised it today, and Mr Moore is wrong and presumptuous to presume to know what the Labor Party's response to that is; but, Mr Speaker, I can reassure the house that the Labor Party supports the national competition policy principles.

I understand fully the arguments that Mr Moore is alluding to about the appropriateness of looking at the Gaming Machine Act under the national competition policy principles. However, Mr Speaker, it should be said that, in any such investigation, as Mr Moore did rather briefly acknowledge, issues of public interest would need to be taken into account. It is appropriate, if any such inquiry does take place, that it take into account the situation in other States as well and that it take account of public interest issues. Even in other States, there is unequal treatment of gaming machines between different entities with gaming machine licences.

Mr Moore: The reality is that the community misses out the way we are at the moment. Much less money goes into the community than would be the case if we were just taxing it fairly.

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