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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 7 Hansard (1 July) . . Page.. 2064 ..

MS CARNELL (continuing):

The whole approach here is an attempt to structure fees so that the people who can afford to pay do so and the people at the lower end of the rung are either having no increase at all - in fact, some are paying nothing - or the increase is very small. For things such as P&C raffles the fees are zero or low. For larger ones the fees are higher. What a good approach! You would have thought the Labor Party would have said, "Good work, government. Social justice". But we have had none of that, and guess why? It is because the Labor Club will have to pay more tax. It is quite that simple; a tiny bit of conflict of interest, one would say, Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker. In fact, those opposite should not vote on this issue. It is quite that simple; they should not vote on it. But they will because they always do. It seems that they are not in any way worried about the conflict of interest that exists.

Mr Stanhope: There is none.

MS CARNELL: I have to say that there is. Mr Temporary Deputy Speaker, the approach that we take here, wherever possible, is to have our fees or charges in line with those in New South Wales or, alternatively, to reflect the actual costs incurred; in other words, a user-pays approach, which I would have assumed that members of this house would support, with, as I have said, the social justice overlay to ensure that the bigger players pay more than the smaller ones. I commend the Bill to the house.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle,

MS CARNELL (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (5.14): I ask for leave to move together the seven amendments circulated in my name.

Leave granted.

MS CARNELL: I move:

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