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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 13 Hansard (3 December) . . Page.. 4447 ..

Ms McRae: Mr Speaker, on a point of order: I am quite careful in pointing out standing orders to you. The standing orders you are applying today are: No interjections. I would simply seek to remind you of that.

MR SPEAKER: Thank you for your guidance.

MR KAINE: Is somebody on the other side of the house a bit tetchy, Mr Speaker? Is that what the problem is?

MR SPEAKER: There will be a few more if we continue with these interjections.

MR KAINE: Mr Corbell has talked not only about injecting an extra million dollars into tourism but also about making a major capital injection into the ownership, by way of capital investment, of the Canberra Airport. If he is going to be able to do all these things, he is going to have to get the money from somewhere. It is pretty consistent with what has happened in New South Wales that he would see a bed tax as being a pretty good source of revenue to fund some of the things that he has been talking about. I think that raises some very serious questions. If he does his research at all, of course, he will know that the introduction of a bed tax will have a devastating effect on tourism. I have just given some very encouraging statistics as to what is happening in the Territory. But if Mr Corbell goes ahead with his bed tax proposal we will see exactly what happened in Sydney happening here; that is, fewer tourists, fewer tourist dollars, fewer people employed in the tourism industry and a major blow to the morale of people engaged in tourism who have been working assiduously for years to build up Canberra as a tourist destination. I think that summarises very briefly what the ramifications are - - -

Mr Moore: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Standing order 117(c)(i) makes it clear that a question shall not ask Ministers for an expression of opinion. Indeed, that is all that Mr Kaine is talking about - an expression of opinion. He draws attention to New South Wales, where there is a drop in tourism perhaps, or suggests there is. He does not compare it, for example, with the Northern Territory, where, in fact, there has been an increase in tourism since the bed tax was introduced. This is just speculation and a matter of opinion.

MR SPEAKER: I think the Minister has finished his answer, Mr Moore.

Mr Whitecross: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move a motion that the Assembly expresses a lack of confidence in the Speaker.

MR SPEAKER: Is leave granted?

Mr Moore: No. Do it after question time. Mr Speaker, I do have a question.

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