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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (10 December) . . Page.. 5186 ..

MR SMYTH: It is not listed anywhere on its website, so what we get is the complete debunking of what Mr Corbell has said about disclosure being the safeguard of democracy.

Mr Hargreaves: Or the Catholics and Friends or the Southern Cross Club?

Mrs Burke: I think you protesteth too much over there.

Mr Hargreaves: Yes, right.

MR SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr Smyth has the floor.

MR SMYTH: The interesting point in what Ms Tucker said was that it has a disproportionate effect on one party. Ms Tucker raised the issue of gambling and the money that the government gets from it. According to the latest Productivity Commission report-

MR SPEAKER: Order, members! It is getting hard to hear Mr Smyth.

MR SMYTH: I can start again, Mr Speaker. I will go back to the start. Mr Corbell said-

MR SPEAKER: No, it is okay. There is no compulsion to start again.

MR SMYTH: We then get to the issue of whether or not governments are hooked on the money that we raise from gambling. Mr Corbell says we are not hooked on it. Not yet, but we are starting to go that way because this year, this budget, this Treasurer, with the assistance of Ms Tucker and Ms Dundas, raised the percentage that is paid back to the government from 25 to 27 per cent. We are having a bit of a holier than thou night tonight and that is probably a good thing.

However, the problem is: when you look at who voted against raising the tax, it is only the Liberals who voted against raising the tax rate from 25 to 27 per cent. Ms Dundas said she has some sympathy, Ms Tucker said she has some sympathy for it but, when push came to shove, we voted against it. The Liberal Party voted against it because, over time, our opinion of this has changed. We have learnt, we have listened and we have changed our position.

It then comes down to looking at the $31 million that is raised by the government. More will be raised this year and the longer we accept it and the higher we set the rate, the more addicted to it we will become. At this stage, against a standardised level of one, we raised about 0.68. We have been castigated by the Grants Commission. I think it is something of which we should be quite proud.

I think the next thing that we have to look at is the conflict of interest in this. Who benefits tonight if this bill does not go ahead? Who benefits the most? It is the eight members of the ALP in this place.

Members interjecting-

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