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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 8 Hansard (30 August) . . Page.. 2694 ..

MR HUMPHRIES: No, I am sorry. It is a matter of contract law. If an operator with a business in New South Wales selling firewood-based, say, in Queanbeyan-receives a telephone call saying, "Can you please supply me with a truckload of firewood?" and the operator says, "Yes, I will supply you with a truckload of firewood. Send me a cheque or give me your credit card details," whatever it might be, or if the person goes out to Queanbeyan and hands over the cash, the transaction occurs in New South Wales. The firewood is supplied from New South Wales, the transaction occurs in New South Wales and the person will not need to be covered by the ACT licensing regime. If you are in the business of selling firewood, it may well be attractive for you to operate on that basis.

Mr Moore: It is not hard to move the business.

MR HUMPHRIES: Not at all; that is right. It is not hard at all to move the business. In fact, I dare say that you might even be able to achieve it by obtaining an address in Queanbeyan which becomes the address from which you operate, even if you do not necessarily have to live there.

I have not explored the details of this bill and I do not know exactly how it might operate, but the fact is that these sorts of businesses are not businesses based in large buildings with a huge amount of infrastructure. As I understand it, it is basically all about trucks and chainsaws. If you have those facilities, you can operate wherever you want to. People are going to base themselves in Queanbeyan to avoid a regime of legislation which they have not been consulted about. Ms Tucker has not, as I understand it, consulted these businesses about these changes-

Ms Tucker: We have, actually-a lot.

MR HUMPHRIES: I have had correspondence from the Australian Home Heating Association, which has urged us not to support this legislation.

Ms Tucker: We know about them.

MR HUMPHRIES: I do not know of any other businesses that consider that they are happy with this legislation. If we are going to do go ahead, we are going to change the face of this industry in the ACT without warning and in a way which is going to disadvantage ACT-based businesses. I do not want that to happen, to be perfectly frank. I think that that is right outside the onus that falls on us as legislators to behave in a responsible way and to consider carefully what it is we do in this place that affects people who are making a living out there out of these sorts of activities; in particular, as it affects small businesses.

These are not major companies that have profit margins that can absorb sudden changes in government regulation and a bit more red tape that costs them a bit of money. These are businesses which actually depend entirely for their viability on the number of sales they make each year. Mr Speaker, I think it is irresponsible of the Assembly to pass legislation in these terms, absolutely irresponsible.

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