Page 4293 - Week 14 - Tuesday, 7 December 1993
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Mrs Carnell: Which TAB officers?
MR BERRY: The TAB officers - the one the Government owns these days. All of the scrutiny that was necessary was done by our Government Service officers in the respective and applicable departments. I received advice on the matter and, based on that advice, I was prepared to agree to the VITAB arrangements.
MR DE DOMENICO: I ask a supplementary question. Who actually signed the contract? If it was you, prior to the day of the signing of the contract did you have private discussions with Mr Hawke? Who actually signed the contract?
MR BERRY: I have already answered that question. I told him how many times I met with Mr Hawke.
Petrol Prices
MRS GRASSBY: My question is to the Attorney-General - - -
Mr Kaine: He has not answered the question, Madam Speaker. This is outrageous!
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Berry has sat down.
Mr Kaine: He spent 15 minutes answering one question and refuses to answer the next one.
Mr Berry: No; I answered the question in full.
Mr Kaine: This is absolutely outrageous!
MADAM SPEAKER: Mrs Grassby is attempting to ask a question. Mrs Grassby has the floor.
MRS GRASSBY: My question is to the Attorney-General, as Minister for consumer affairs. Can the Minister inform the Assembly whether he is aware of any changes in the market for petrol recently?
MR CONNOLLY: I thank Mrs Grassby for that question. Indeed, Madam Speaker, the Government has been vindicated. What we have been saying for over two years is that the oil industry had to start treating the people of Canberra the same as they treated the people of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, that is, provide realistic competition in this market. For years the oil industry have said, "We cannot possibly discount petrol in Canberra; we will all go broke". They seem to ignore the fact that for 20 years they have discounted petrol in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth, without apparently going broke.
We warned them. We urged them to be competitive. We provided every incentive for them to be competitive. But they spat in our face and said, "No, no, no", and continued to charge up to 76.5c a litre for petrol in Canberra. We announced some little while ago, when the prevailing price of petrol was 76.5c a litre, that we would provide a one-off, short-term licence - not a sale of an
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