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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1639 ..

MR QUINLAN: I don't what the hell this question is about. We have somebody who doesn't know a lot about accounting trying to ask an accounting question. I am sorry, I-

Mr Humphries: Well, take it on notice and find out.

MR QUINLAN: Can I ask you to give me a question on notice. You can specify what you want-

Mr Smyth: You can take it on notice.

MR QUINLAN: I don't understand it.

Mr Smyth: Why don't you just take it on notice and read the Hansard?

MR QUINLAN: I don't know what you are driving at. In definitional terms, one can define debt in a specific way to say, "This is formal borrowings from somebody."

Mr Pratt: And it's bad.

MR QUINLAN: Yes, bad. And then you can have liabilities. Within your spectrum of liabilities you can have quite a number of things in respect of which you are aware and you know that at a future time you will have to stump up with some cash. Is it the function of formal borrowing? No. But is it a liability? It certainly is.

Racing industry

MR STEFANIAK: My question is to the minister for racing. Minister, you have been reported in the media, and have spoken in this place, about the threats from New South Wales racing authorities to our racing industry in the territory. You have said that representatives of the New South Wales racing minister, the Thoroughbred Racing Board, the Australian Racing Board and the New South Wales TAB approached the then Chief Minister, Kate Carnell, about three years ago with their concerns about sports bookmakers and you implied that the then Chief Minister did nothing about the issue.

Minister, after your much-vaunted negotiations with representatives of the New South Wales racing minister, the Thoroughbred Racing Board, the Australian Racing Board and the New South Wales TAB, didn't you discover what we on this side already knew, and that is that New South Wales will only be satisfied with a complete shutdown of the sports betting industry in the ACT?

MR QUINLAN: First of all, I have to say I don't think I said that the Australian Racing Board came down-they may have. Certainly, New South Wales TAB and Sky Channel representatives came down and I think that is what I would have said back then.

As to what is the reasoning behind it, every now and then we have a little muse and we think, "What is this all about? Is it not necessarily a case of New South Wales wanting to close down all sports bookmakers in the ACT?" I am sure they would be happy if they could. Equally, I think New South Wales TAB Limited, now privatised, would be very happy to acquire our TAB. I cannot ascribe motives to anybody and I am working through this trying to understand the real dynamic.

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