Tuesday 28 April 2009
Hansard of the Legislative Council
TOTE TASMANIA (SALE) BILL 2009 (No. 17)

Mr FINCH (Rosevears) - As I was warned when I first came down here, some of these debates can be really interesting and it is better not to make up your mind too early until you hear the arguments that come forward and in listening to the debate here, that warning has been amplified in my mind.  It has been interesting to hear the member for Windermere putting the motion forward that we have an adjournment and then in my own mind feeling that we have come here today to actually drive through this piece of legislation, to work on it.  We had plenty of warning that this was coming up and we have been out there doing our work on the process of understanding the legislation, talking to the industry, getting their feedback and then coming here to make our decision, which I am prepared to do. 
 
Then I listened to the member for Windermere talk about the deed.  There was a lot of concern from the people that I consulted and I have reams of criticism of the deed.  I suspected there would be a more concrete deal as far as the deed was concerned.  I know there was a request for it to be e‑mailed to us, but if we are going to wait for it to be e-mailed then we could be waiting all day.  Has it come through yet?
 
Ms Forrest - No.
 
Mr FINCH - I did not wait for that.  I have faxed the people that I needed to talk to in respect to the deed.  I sent it to them and I have the answers here that I need to guide me in respect of the deed.  They still have concerns, but the point is what you are saying about -
 
Mr Dean - I have been in the Chamber all day.
 
Mr FINCH - There are people here to help us and that is what I have done; I have gone to people and asked them to help me to get the information out and to get the results back to me and I have the results.
 
I wanted to make that point, but I have heard some powerful arguments in respect of the process that we have been through.  Again, and this is something that I have spoken of on the Floor of the Chamber a couple of times, consultation; I remember being on the Subordinate Legislation Committee and the process that we went through often about the fact that the Government did not consult.  I have spoken a few times about the lack of consultation and I would have thought the message would have got through long ago about the concerns we have about not consulting the people who are going to be affected.  We might say, 'Oh, yeah, but we are dealing with people from the TRB; they represent the industry'.  Yes, but your complaints will not come from the TRB.  They will come from people like the Whishaws and the McCullochs and Chester Bullock; those people will be the ones stirring the pot, agitating, jumping up and down and saying they have not been consulted.
 
It befuddles me why the Government has not received this message and, in this crucial process that our Treasurer and Minister of Racing has been guiding us through, why that message has not been somewhere in the back of his mind, 'Hang on, the more I put this out there, the more I share the information, the more I make people feel involved, the easier the process is going to be because they will feel that they have been included; they will feel that they have been consulted with'.
 
I am not hearing too much today in the debate that says to me the information that I might have given to the industry to bring them along with me would have jeopardised the opportunity for us to be first in the marketplace.  I think that the process could have included people more so that their fears and concerns were allayed, they were more in the loop and they would not be badgering us to say they do not trust the process; they have not been included; they wanted to be included; they are concerned about their industry; they do not think they are being listened to.
 
Mr Wing - Especially if they were misled about the Government's intentions.
 
Mr FINCH - All that.  I did not intend today to stand here and bash up people for a process that has been mishandled because I think there is enough of that going on at this stage and people can feel the recriminations of the process not being done very well.
 
Madam PRESIDENT - Perhaps we could go back to the issue which is that the debate stand adjourned.  It is a yes or a no and your reasons.
 
Mr FINCH - I do not think I have heard enough of me to be able to decide at this stage -
 
Members laughing.
 
Mr FINCH - that is why I am still paddling away.  I am trying to be constructive to the debate and let people know that I am in the same conundrum as the member for Huon.  I am really trying to search for a way to go.  I came here prepared to go through the process.  I hear what the member for Windermere is saying.  I am not even sure yet if I can support the motion but I think the member for Huon is right; let us hear something more from the Government and we will see what happens when it is put to the Floor.