Crispin Hull

The Democrats and the Greens have made various noises about what they might do to the Coalition’s industrial relations reforms. The devil, of course, will be in the detail. No doubt the Coalition will have to engage in some compromise in some details. However, there is one Coalition proposal that the Democrats and Greens should accept. That is the Coalition’s plan to scrap the absurd notion of “”protected industrial action”.

Under protected action, the “”umpire” … the Industrial Relations Commission … does not have to require unionists to lift bans and other industrial action before they negotiate with an employer. It means that employees can still get paid while holding a gun to the employer’s head. We have seen dramatic examples in the ACT in recent weeks, notably employees sabotaging their employer’s ability to receive money. The rule should be if you do not work without bans you should not get paid.
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The ACT Government is to be commended for its response to the Stein report. The response should put to rest any idea that land tenure in the ACT will move from 99-year leasehold to freehold or perpetual leasehold. It should also put an end to hidden subsidies to developers when leases are changed to allow more profitable uses, for example, from single residential to units or commercial offices or from sport and community use to housing. In future, the general pattern will be that owners of leases who seek to change the purpose will pay the full difference in value. However, the Government may grant remissions to encourage development, but where it does so, it put it before the Assembly for potential disallowance and must notify the amount of the remission in the Gazette.

Further, the calculation of the change of use fee … to be called a development-rights charge, not betterment … is to be clarified and based on Australian Valuation Office values. A reasonable deduction is to be allowed for demolition of existing buildings if that is necessary.

The Government has ensured security of tenure by providing for automatic renewals of leases on payment of an administrative fee and for 50-year commercial leases to be extended to 99-year leases.
Continue reading “1996_03_march_leader29mar”

Residents of Ainslie joined the concern of other residents associations in the inner north about traffic in their suburb this week. They say it is getting as bad as on the western side of Northbourne Avenue. The traffic flow, particularly at peak hours, in residential streets on both sides of Northbourne Avenue has increased substantially in the past five years and is likely to continue climbing. The reason has been obvious. New suburbs have been built, notably Gungahlin, North Lyneham and West Belconnen without laying out reasonable road infrastructure to bear the traffic they would generate. The land has been sold for the newer suburbs, with profits going to the developers, without provision for the necessary public infrastructure outside those suburbs. (And incidentally, the town centre and other non-traffic infrastructure in Gungahlin have been similarly ignored.)

The result is a bunfight of competing interests. Residents of Gungahlin, quite reasonably, want to get to work in Civic, Woden and beyond. Residents of inner north, quite reasonably, do not want large volumes of through-traffic charging through their suburbs on roads that were never designed to take it. Residents of the fringe of Mount Ainslie and the green belt between inner north and Belconnen do not want freeways carved through the bushland to take the Gungahlin traffic. ACT rate-payers do not want to subsidise a light-rail system or some other economically irresponsible dream solution. People who respect the notion of Canberra as the national city do not want Northbourne Avenue … the present gateway to Canberra … to lose chunks of its median strip to turning lanes, bus lanes, train lanes, or extra lanes.
Continue reading “1996_03_march_leader27mar”

The mythology has been that Australians do not like dobbers. Apparently our convict history makes us suspicious of dobbers. The consequence has been that without dobbers, wrong-doers have been able to act with impunity. In particular, corruption has spread among the very people with the duty to act against wrong-doers, and confidence in the law-enforcement system has been sapped. A survey by the Independent Commission Against Corruption published this week paints a depressing picture about it. Of 515 people surveyed, 71 per cent thought whistle-blowers would suffer for reporting corruption. Given the history of treatment of whistle-blowers in Australia, their perception has foundation.

The ICAC report said people did not know who to trust when reporting wrong-doing. Given the history of corruption in the NSW police force, their misgivings have foundation. The head of ICAC, Barry O’Keefe, quite rightly said, “”We have got to create a climate in which reporting wrong-doing is acceptable.”

Fortunately, there is reason to think that this depressing state of affairs can be changed … but little thanks to ICAC. The reason is the superb job being done by the Wood Royal Commission. Justice James Wood has exposed widespread police corruption where previous inquirers, including ICAC (before Mr O’Keefe’s time), failed dismally. The Wood Royal Commission very competently gathered the evidence, forcing public confessions which in turn caused other perpetrators to the inevitable conclusion that it would be better to confess to gain a lighter sentence or immunity than trying to maintain innocence against the facts.
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The move by the assistant treasurer Senator Jim Short to open the superannuation market to banks and credit unions is a welcome one. Australia’s saving base is notoriously low. Anything that gives an incentive to saving is worthwhile.

Under present rules, banks have had to set up cumbersome separate trustee-type structures as subsidiaries. This has meant costs and inconvenience. The beauty of allowing banks and credit unions to get into the business directly is that they will be able to provide over-the-counter services. Superannuation will become more accessible. Under present arrangements, bumping up superannuation contributions can be difficult. With over-the-counter superannuation accounts (or even ATM accounts), customers will be able to drop savings in easily. They will see the tax advantages very quickly. Superannuation earnings are taxed at a far lower rate than ordinary interest earnings. But once someone takes the tax advantage, they cannot later withdraw the earnings without pay the difference in tax (unless they have reached retirement). The incentive to keep the savings in place is obvious.
Continue reading “1996_03_march_leader23mar”

The new Government has a difficult task ahead in rationalising Australia’s media rules. Over the years, Labor made many decisions in favour one player or another for political reasons. Labor did not have a coherent plan or vision with the public interest in mind. Nor did it react strategically to changes in technology, let alone predict them.

Labor was further hampered by the collapse of the share market in 1987 and the subsequent bazaar of media assets on offer. Also, early in Labor term the constitutional powers over all media were not as well developed as they are now. That does not excuse the mess, but it explains at least some of it. Now there is a chance to lay down some clearer principles, with particular attention to diversity, Australian ownership and Australian content, and the quality of content.

At present five major media players have a keen interest in the new rules. Either present rules prevent them or prevent their competitors from acting. Either way it will affect the way they act.
Continue reading “1996_03_march_leader22mar”

Power craft are banned on Canberra’s three lakes, with the exception of some boats powered by tiny electric engines, two tourist boats and rescue craft. Power boats are allowed on part of the Molonglo River, just before it enters Lake Burley Griffin. Now there is a proposal for powered jet-skis on Lake Tuggeranong.

Several reasons have been put forward for the ban on powered boats. The engines are noisy; they pollute the water with petrol and oil; the wash of powered boats wrecks the shore line; they pose a safety hazard; they affect wildlife.

Perhaps some of these reasons need to be put to the test. Are the boats any noisier than the traffic that goes on roads near the lakes or over the bridges? Would they add significantly to noise and pollution that presumably comes from those on the Molonglo? Is the wash significantly different from storms? Does the experience of other waterways suggest safety and wildlife are badly affected? It may well be that opposition to power boats is a knee-jerk reaction. After all, the present motor craft do not attract much complaint.
Continue reading “1996_03_march_leader21mar”

The study by Trends showing a slight crime rise in the ACT is to be expected. Worldwide trends show that crime tends to increase with the size of the city. Those who see advantages in having a larger city, must also see some of the profound disadvantages.

None the less, the ACT still has less crime than the national average. But the Australian Federal Police is not being complacent and has made some changes in response to changes in crime patterns. Police have to undergo constant changes in approach, simply because the criminals they are chasing change their methods.

Even so, further changes in society’s approach to drugs and road traffic are needed. This week the NSW Police Royal Commission has revealed the tragic neglect of crimes against children because of police concentration of resources into the hopeless fight against drugs. When drug abuse is treated as a health problem, not a crime problem, more resources will be available to police other crimes. Moreover, a decline in crimes against property to support drug habits could be expected.
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Kim Beazley was the natural to take over the Labor Party leadership. This much was known from about 7.30pm on Saturday March 2. The only question was whether he would get elected in the seat of Brand. With that done, by a narrow margin, there was no-one in the Labor to challenge him. Perhaps this says more about the lack of leadership depth in the Labor Party than about the leadership qualities of Mr Beazley. Even so, Mr Beazley is well regarded by the public and has demonstrated considerable administrative and leadership skill in several portfolios and as leader of the House.

Imagine if the Liberal Party in Western Australia had not been so riven with factional strife that it could have saved the effort of battling disendorsed independents in three key seats and concentrated on campaigning in Labor seats. Mr Beazley could well have lost, and Australian democracy would have been the poorer.

Instead of Mr Beazley taking the leadership unchallenged, the leadership would have been contested by the two who contested the deputy leadership yesterday: Gareth Evans and Simon Crean. Neither would have been entirely suitable as leader, though each has something to contribute in a lesser role. Mr Evans represents the intellectual, socially liberal arm of the party; Mr Crean represents the industrial, pragmatic arm.
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