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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 6 Hansard (2 September) . . Page.. 1804 ..

Mr Hargreaves: No, we did not.

MS CARNELL: No, you did not. Spot on. Those opposite supported the Graham report. I think Ms Tucker supported the Graham report also. Never once in any of that support or in any of the debates in which they were urging the Government to implement it did I hear one comment that said "the Graham report but not the zone system". They did not say anything about that at all.

Mr Berry: They were not here. How could they?

MS CARNELL: You were here. Ms Tucker was here. Those opposite are just playing politics. Yes, in any zonal system there will have to be boundaries. Yes, there will be people who will fall on one side or the other of a boundary. Some people will like it, and some people will not. That is part of a zone system as recommended by the Graham report, a report that was taken on board by this Assembly. In fact, the Government was urged to do the work to implement it. Implementation meant significant community consultation. It meant the people at ACTION buses, Guy Thurston and his people, going out and speaking to the community. In the final analysis, there will be people who like it and people who do not. Will the people who like it say anything?

This is a really important issue in this place. This Assembly urged the Government to implement the Graham report. We complied with the Assembly's approach and are implementing the Graham report.

Mr Hargreaves: This Assembly did not; the last one did.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! Mr Hargreaves, you were heard in silence. The Chair would expect the same respect for the Chief Minister.

Mr Hargreaves: I take a point of order, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. I was not heard in silence.

MR TEMPORARY DEPUTY SPEAKER: That is not a point of order.

MS CARNELL: We have gone ahead and implemented the report that those opposite and this Assembly asked us to implement. A lot of work has been done at ACTION to achieve that end. Part of that report was about a zonal system. A small vocal group of people may not like a particular outcome. Inevitably, that will happen with any decision that is taken. Under any system we implement there will be people who do better and people who do not.

If we are going to respond all the time to noisy vocal minority groups - it is a minority group of people who will end up somewhat worse off under the zonal system of bus fares - then government in this place will never work properly. It is important for those on the crossbenches to remember that. We were asked to do something which we have done. A lot of consultation occurred. Some people will end up being on one side or another of a zone boundary. That will always happen.

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