start by thanking the members of Estimates Committee G, particularly the chair, Mandy Johnstone, who
did an excellent job. I thank all departmental officers and staff from my office for their efforts in
preparation for the hearing, parliamentary staff and also Hansard staff, who were as professional as
they always are. It was a great pleasure to advise the committee of the detail of the various areas in the
Tourism and Fair Trading portfolio during the estimates hearing two weeks ago. I was astounded the
shadow minister in his statement of reservation complained that there was not enough time allocated for
the hearing. This is the same member who wasted most of the time asking questions on a topic which
has nothing to do with Fair Trading or even the state budget, and I refer to the home insulation scheme.
He has asked me that question about 200 times. He obviously thought that if he asked 201 times he
might get a different answer. The Office of Fair Trading does not have the power to investigate issues
associated with electrical safety. I have suggested to him before—it might resolve his confusion—that
he read the Fair Trading Act. If we get a complaint that relates to electrical safety, it is referred to the
Electrical Safety Office, which is the responsible entity.
After wasting this time the member for Mermaid Beach then carried on about racing. He obviously
saw some sort of conspiracy in the fact that he could not find the constitution of Racing Queensland. He
said that it was secret and I had to tell him that it was on the website if he took the time to look. On
Tourism the opposition again wasted time focusing on where the Tourism Queensland chair lives. If
someone is the best person for the job, that is good enough for me! I do not care if they live in
Antarctica, but as it happens the chairman actually owns property and spends time in Port Douglas.
The greatest disappointment was the fact that the opposition leader was not even in the country
at the time of the estimates hearing. Imagine someone whose Chief of Staff has labelled him Tinker Bell!
Was he in Russia, Japan or was Tinker Bell in Neverland? Then the opposition leader had the hide to
complain that there was not enough opportunity for scrutiny in hearings. The Leader of the Opposition
could not even make it through two weeks of estimates this year. He had no interest in estimates this
year so escaped to Neverland where there will never be a policy and there never will be a plan. Unlike
the opposition, the Bligh government has a plan for more jobs and to continue our work on building a
strong, smart and fair economy. I know there are people desperate to get out of here, so I commend the
report to the House.
Report adopted.
Clauses 1 to 5, as read, agreed to.
Schedules 1 to 3, as read, agreed to.
