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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 1 Hansard (15 February) . . Page.. 47 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

respect of, for example, the decline in the value of ACT newsagencies which has been caused by the advent of Canberra Times direct which has undercut many of those newsagencies' home deliveries of newspapers.

Mr Speaker, that is the Government's plan, and I am happy to keep the Assembly briefed on progress with that process of auctioning those runs as it proceeds.

MR OSBORNE: I have a supplementary question. Minister, you said that milkos have the option of staying in the business as independents. To your knowledge has Capital Chilled Foods, the only supplier, guaranteed that independent milk vendors will be able to purchase wholesale milk from them after 1 July this year? It is one thing to say they can stay in the market, but where can they buy their milk from?

MR HUMPHRIES: Mr Speaker, I am not aware of any guarantee of that kind by Capital Chilled Foods. I am aware that there is no obligation on the vendors to buy their product from Capital Chilled Foods. That is the arrangement at the moment, of course, but with deregulation they will have no such obligation.

I am quite prepared to concede the possibility that some players in the marketplace - I will not name Capital Chilled Foods, but some players in the marketplace - will have a market position which could threaten the capacity of smaller operators such as the home vendors to continue to do their runs on a profitable basis. I can indicate in response to that possibility that I believe there are a number of available recourses in legislation, including the Trade Practices Act, most particularly, and the Government would certainly stand ready to take appropriate steps to assist vendors who found themselves in the middle of some kind of squeeze to ensure that milk deliveries continue to the homes of Canberrans in any part of the ACT where currently home delivery is affected. I cannot give a guarantee, and there is no guarantee from Capital Chilled Foods, but the Government certainly is anxious to ensure that small operators do not suffer as a result of this process.

MR RUGENDYKE: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services, Mr Smyth. Minister, what is the Government's policy which applies to commercial leases in the ACT where the conditions attaching to the Crown lease have not been met and have been allowed to lapse?

MR SMYTH: Mr Speaker, across all our leases we have conditions that the Government expects to be met. Where people are in breach, we have a compliance section inside PALM whose job is to chase them up and work with people to make sure that they are compliant. If they refuse to become compliant we will take the appropriate action.

MR RUGENDYKE: I have a supplementary question. What policy applies where a commercial lessee wishes to vary the conditions of the lease when previous conditions have not been met?

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