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The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (14:53): Further supplementary: would the Treasurer care to clarify what clarity he is going to provide to small retailers?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (14:53): Just to assist the honourable member, the honourable member's first supplementary was: would I provide the legal advice? The honourable member is perhaps a new member to—

The Hon. C.M. Scriven: 'Or guidelines' was my question.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: The honourable member is perhaps a new member to the chamber. Crown advice which is available to the government and ministers is never provided to persons other than to the ministers and to the Crown.

I have put on the public record, during the debate and prior to the debate, the vexed legal issues in relation to what is in and what is out. Ultimately, the government has indicated that it will abide by whatever legal advice we have. It will be ultimately up to individual retailers if they choose to disagree with that particular position. As I said originally, ultimately, our silly, antiquated, outdated laws will only ever be resolved one way or another by a court, because the government will have its legal advice; retailers may well have their own legal advice, which disagrees with the government's legal advice.

Ultimately, it will be, potentially, until it gets into a court and a judge decides one way or another what he or she believes the silly, antiquated, outdated laws that we have ultimately mean as to who is right and who is wrong. The government can only operate on the legal advice. I can only operate on the legal advice I get. Retailers will have to operate on the legal advice that they take if they choose to disagree with what the regulator and what the government says the position is in relation to the law.