Page 2454 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 13 August 2014

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So if it is fair, it is fair only if they all bid on the same thing. Again, I think it needs to be determined by somebody else as to whether the inherent fairness that we would all hope the government had sought to achieve for all bidders actually did occur, and we will not know that because the analysis is not being released. That is a shame coming from a government that said that we are now living in a new era of openness and accountability.

So what have we given up? The heading of the article is “Attenborough’s Prize”. So Attenborough got the prize in this, not us. The real prize is the 50-year licence at zero tax on tote earnings and less than one per cent on sports bookmaking licences. That is the real prize here.

Mr Barr: There is an annual licence fee.

MR SMYTH: Yes, there is an annual licence fee, but the analysis of the market is that they are the winners and we are not. I have no doubt that $105 million in the budget today is probably a good thing for the Treasurer; I am sure he is feeling pretty happy with that. But as we look for long-term revenue streams for the sustainability and viability of the city and the services we want to offer, having forgone potential taxes for a 50-year period, let us have the analysis. The government is refusing to give the analysis, and that gives me great concern.

I will finish where I started. There is the old adage that if it seems too good to be true it probably is. Well, the only way to ascertain whether it is too good to be true is to have an independent inquiry. The best person to do that is the Auditor-General of the ACT. I ask members to reconsider deleting paragraph 3 from my motion. If there is nothing to fear or nothing to hide then let us say that all of the Assembly supports it, have the referral, leave it as it is, and let the Auditor-General do the analysis. She can see all this documentation and make a decision based on having the full story, not what we are getting as reported through press releases or in the media.

Question put:

That the amendment be agreed to.

The Assembly voted—

Ayes 9		Noes 8
Mr Barr	Ms Gallagher	Mr Coe	Ms Lawder
Ms Berry	Mr Gentleman	Mr Doszpot	Mr Smyth
Dr Bourke	Ms Porter	Mrs Dunne	Mr Wall
Ms Burch	Mr Rattenbury	Mr Hanson
Mr Corbell		Mrs Jones

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Motion, as amended, agreed to.

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