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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 7 Hansard (24 September) . . Page.. 2165 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

We are told that we are hell-bent on privatising everything in sight, notwithstanding the fact that in three years we have not done very much privatising - in fact, almost none at all. But - - -

Mr Stanhope: You keep losing the numbers.

MR HUMPHRIES: No, we have not even tried.

Mr Stanhope: You tried on ACTTAB, and Dave will not back you today, either.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, for the record on that interjection, everything we have sought to privatise we have successfully obtained the numbers for on the floor of this house. But, in fact, there have been very few in that category, Mr Speaker - very few indeed - because we have not pursued an agenda of privatisation. That is the reality.

Mr Stanhope: You lost the numbers on the TAB because Mr Moore would not go with you. It is on his list of 40.

MR SPEAKER: Order! We are discussing Ecowise, not the TAB.

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, we have here a clear indication of who is being ideological in this chamber. It is not the Government, which has, in fact, barely taken steps towards privatisation in any field so far in its more than three years, almost four years, in office. It is not the Government. It is those people opposite who say, "We do not care what the circumstances are, we do not care how bleak or how uncertain the future of a particular enterprise might be, we do not care how many jobs are at risk, we do not care if the activity of the enterprise is not central, we do not care what public benefit might be demonstrated by a sale, we do not want privatisation in any form at any time, because that is what our party has told us to say".

Mr Speaker, I urge members particularly of the crossbench not to succumb to that kind of narrow-minded approach to these problems. This is not an abstract debate. It is not about a balance sheet somewhere in an annual report. It is about the livelihood of almost 50 people in this community. We do not have the right to put that at risk because of an ideological straightjacket which says, "We will not see privatisation under any circumstances". Mr Speaker, we are not in this for a quick buck. There is not much money in this sale from the Government's point of view. We are in it, however, to make sure the jobs are kept secure. We are in it to encourage initiative, to encourage enterprise. We are in it to make sure that Ecowise as a business is out there capable of growing.

Mr Speaker, in conclusion I would submit to the Assembly that if we are concerned about creating vital and effective businesses in this community, whether they be in the public sector or the private sector, then we want to support a strong involvement and role by employees in that process. It could be said that buyer buyout is the ultimate expression of industrial democracy. Mr Speaker, we support that in this context. We support giving people whose jobs are dependent on a particular enterprise's health the capacity to be able to play a key role in making sure that those businesses do well in the future.

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