Page 1814 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 15 June 1993
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
The changes to liquor licensing hours my colleagues have addressed appropriately. Certainly I know that the police call 2.00 am or 3.00 am the witching hour, after which partying becomes a little more unpleasant. People who up until then have just been having a few drinks with friends become violent in many cases. We looked at it at length, because no member of this committee was happy to suggest extra regulations. I think everyone in this Assembly would be aware of that from other things this committee has recommended. We thought that in this situation, taking into account the gravity of the problem, there was a need to look again at whether it is appropriate for alcohol to be available after 4.00 am and before 8.00 am. We believe that it is necessary for the Government to take some very definite steps in this area.
The recommendations on restaurant laws are interesting as well. The committee is suggesting that it is important for young people to learn to drink in public, that there really is not a huge difference between the day before you are 18 and the day after you are 18, and again that brings in the name of the report - A Rite of Passage?. The committee believes that a rite of passage does exist for young people in terms of how they drink alcohol, but we believe that it was up to us to recommend ways in which that rite of passage could be accomplished with as few casualties as humanly possible. I commend the report as being a way for government to do its job, to make that rite of passage as safe as possible for our young people.
Debate (on motion by Ms Follett) adjourned.
RATES AND LAND TAX (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (8.34): Madam Speaker, I seek leave to present the Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Bill 1993.
Leave granted.
MS FOLLETT: I present the Rates and Land Tax (Amendment) Bill 1993.
Title read by Clerk.
MS FOLLETT: I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
The range of budget matters before the Assembly today, including the debate on the Supply Bill and the introduction of amendments to the Rates and Land Tax Act, provide an opportunity to review the budget strategy I announced in the lead-up to the last budget. The key elements of the strategy were: Achieving a balanced recurrent budget in each of the three years; achieving expenditure reductions which minimise any adverse reduction in services and which allow resources to be devoted to priority areas; minimising borrowings for specific purposes, to ensure that debt servicing does not place undue pressure on future budgets; pursuing urban renewal; and increasing revenue collections where necessary and sustainable to fund government priorities.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .