Page 434 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 24 February 1993
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Mr Kaine: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
MADAM SPEAKER: Thank you, Mr Kaine. Please proceed, Mr Connolly.
MR CONNOLLY: Thank you, Madam Speaker. As I was saying to Mr Humphries, unlike power supplied by publicly owned authorities such as ACTEW, gas is supplied by the private sector. The private sector is a group which Liberal members are often fond of extolling.
The price increases which you bring to my attention and which you suggest are a bit over the top, a bit rapacious, are price increases by a private sector enterprise. We will have a look at those price increases and we will see what we can do about them. It goes to show what Labor has been saying all along - that, if you rely on the private sector to deal fairly without government intervention, the consumer will often get ripped off. If you rely on the private sector to pass on the so-called tax savings that you reckon that GST will provide, we will probably see the same as we see with this company - a Liberal member getting up in this parliament and criticising a private company for putting its prices up too steeply. Mr Humphries, that is what often happens in the sort of unregulated market that you people favour.
Milk Bottles
MR MOORE: Madam Speaker, my question is directed to Mr Connolly in so far as he has responsibility for the Milk Authority. My staff indicated to him earlier today that I would be asking the question. Could you advise the Assembly when Canberrans can expect to have their precious milk bottles reinstated, Minister? We miss them terribly.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, milk in bottles will return. There was never any intention on the Government's part to stop milk appearing in bottles. What happened was that the bottle washing plant, which was quite old - although it was over 10 years old, it was still one of the most modern in Australia, because these plants tend to last for a long time - broke down and the major chain that operates the conveyor belt was unserviceable. That is not a part that could be simply ordered off the shelf at your friendly local hardware store. We placed an order overseas. At the time, we looked at whether it was prudent to replace the entire machine, but the advice was that it was not. While the machine has been out of service, we have stripped it down and done a lot of preventive maintenance, so when we get the chain back in place the machine should continue to serve this community for quite some time to come.
The economics of milk in bottles advantage the community. As the Milk Authority is a community owned body, it is cheaper for milk to be sold in bottles. Once a bottle is recycled at least six times, it is much cheaper than plastic or cardboard. On average, our bottles are recycled far more than six times, so the ratepayer is in front. We anticipate that the line will be back in service shortly, but I do not have a precise date. I can assure you unequivocally that we will have milk in bottles.
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