Page 3378 - Week 11 - Thursday, 11 November 2021
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
rates relief, payroll tax waivers and deferrals, stamp duty relief and land tax credit. The ACT government has waived licence fees for food businesses’ registration, outdoor dining and liquor licensing.
I assume that Ms Castley’s motion wilfully omits these because they have helped. Food business registration fee waivers have been extended until 31 March next year, and if food business registration has been prepaid for more than one year in advance, an additional 12 months will be added to the licence. Outdoor dining permit waivers have been extended for another 12 months, until 30 June next year. Annual licence fee waivers for some liquor licensees have been tapered to provide a 50 per cent fee reduction for 12 months from 1 April this year to the end of March next year. Eligible licensees include nightclubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, general licences, catering licences, special licences and club licences.
The Canberra Business Advice and Support Service has been extended until the end of March next year as well, and it gives businesses up to four hours free access to expert advice on a range of topics. We are continuing to support our businesses as we transition out of lockdown and they seek to capitalise on pent-up consumer demand from Canberrans and interstate visitors and, hopefully soon, international visitors. With the further easing of restrictions from tomorrow and the removal of density limits for outdoor spaces, let us, instead of shamefully talking it down, highlight the opportunity available to local businesses to expand their outdoor spaces and maximise their capacity for trade over the coming months.
The taskforce has a mandate to make public spaces available to businesses and is working with staff from across the directorates to manage applications on behalf of businesses. Wherever possible, it has an attitude of saying yes. Forty-three businesses have already taken up this option and commenced operation in expanded trading spaces. If a business would like additional outdoor space, I strongly encourage them to get in contact with the taskforce to make it happen. You can get in contact with the taskforce by email to oat@act.gov.au or by phone on 02 6205 4400.
Mr Cain’s speech was something else. It was, at the very least, wilfully ignorant. It is another example—it is very common—of the Canberra Liberals, especially those two, saying that something has not happened when it has. Mr Cain said we should have met with businesses during lockdown. Mr Cain, we met with business leaders, and businesses more broadly, every single day, then three times a week, and now we are meeting once a week. We have said this repeatedly; it is not a secret. Those opposite need to improve their basic comprehension skills, whether it is with respect to listening or reading signs in town centres, because this is embarrassing. They cannot say that something is true because they say it is, without doing basic research. Everyone sees through it, and it is a waste of everyone’s time.
It is important that I highlight a particular aspect of Minister Steel’s amendment, which corrects a glaring inaccuracy in Ms Castley’s original motion with respect to the contribution of our night-time economy. She somehow let it sit on the notice paper for four days and did not even correct it before or after she saw Minister Steel’s amendment. In her motion and her speech, Ms Castley quoted the report that we have all referred to. She flagged that the hospitality sector had $3.35 million in sales
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video