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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 4 Hansard (24 June) . . Page.. 1008 ..

MR KAINE (12.54 am): Mr Speaker, it is quite clear that the Government wants a Clayton's cap; they want a cap that is not a cap. The Chief Minister and Mr Moore have both said, "We love a cap; we want a cap". In fact, it is not a matter of whether or not you want one; there is a resolution of the Assembly that we will have one. What you want to do is delay this. Why do you want to delay this? The Government wants to delay this because they know that, if they delay it for long enough, it is a waste of time to put one into effect. This committee is supposed to report on the broader issues by February next year. If you do not put a cap on until September or November, why bother? Mr Moore is quite right; if you leave it for long enough it will not make the slightest bit of difference. All of the applications will be in and the commissioner will have approved them all because the commissioner has no discretion, without this amendment, to reject one; and the Government will be delighted, because the Government does not want a cap. The Government are the only group of people in this place who do not want one; so they delay and delay until it gets to the point where, even if you impose one, it has no effect.

So, Mr Speaker, I urge the members of this Assembly who are not Government members to ignore what the Government is saying. It suits the Government fine not to have a cap; they did not want one in the first place. The record will show, I guess, that they voted against the motion in the Assembly three weeks ago. Now, of course, they are going to try to stop that resolution being put into effect. The select committee did - - -

Mr Moore: You found out that you could not do it by resolution; you had to do it by legislation. When you got that wrong, you got this wrong.

MR SPEAKER: Order!

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, can you stop Mr Moore trying to talk over the top of me? I listened to him, and he can listen to me whether he likes it or not.

The select committee did what it was tasked to do by this Assembly. Now the Government do not like it; so, they criticise the legislation. The legislation that has been put before you has been developed with the advice of the commissioner, with the advice of the commissioner every inch of the way. It reflects the method by which the commissioner believes the cap can be put in place. I do not give a hoot if the Revenue Office people do not like it. It does not bother me in the slightest. The Chief Minister said that the Revenue Office people have not had a chance to look at it. So what! What we are doing is putting into effect the resolution of this Assembly. The Revenue Office people can work within the law after the law is in place. That is the role of this place.

Members interjected.

Mr Hargreaves: On a point of order, Mr Speaker: Mr Kaine sat in silence and listened to people. Not one of these people has given him the same courtesy, and I urge you to enforce the standing orders.

MR SPEAKER: I uphold the point of order.

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