Page 3574 - Week 12 - Thursday, 20 September 1990
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have to say, however, that we have done whatever we can. We are well aware of the effects on small business of the crippling rates of interest which currently apply.
This is compounded by the generally adverse national economic conditions in which everybody is trading. And that is not going to change drastically; no matter how much we discuss it here, it is not going to change. I am quite sure that, although there are ideological differences between us, the things that the Government is doing, broadly - - -
Mr Stevenson: I read quotes from Liberals and Labor.
MR KAINE: Yes, but I am just covering myself. I am sure that Mr Connolly and I are in synchronisation on these matters. The first thing that we are doing is ensuring that the ACT itself is not adversely contributing to the national economic position; the second is that we have introduced budget measures specifically aimed at assisting small business; and, thirdly, we are actively introducing important micro-economic reforms which, in the event of their successful introduction, will be useful to the whole economy of the ACT without any great impact on what is happening outside it.
I believe we have contributed positively to the national economic situation through our own fiscal restraint - for example, by limiting borrowings for our capital works program to 70 per cent of the limit set by the Loan Council under the global allocation arrangement, and by bringing down a balanced recurrent budget. Those things, in themselves, contribute to economic and financial well-being.
In our budget we have also recognised the plight of small business in the ACT and we have announced amendments to the payroll legislation which increased the exemption limit to $500,000. That will have a significant effect on our small business by reducing the tax burden. We have established a workers compensation premiums monitoring committee which will monitor premiums imposed for workers compensation in the ACT and bring down the costs to small business.
Increases in revenue that we necessarily impose have been spread across the whole community in order to avoid substantive adverse impact on any particular sector, and I do not believe that there is a particularly discriminatory level of taxation on the business sector. Taxes in general have been kept at or below those in the State of New South Wales which completely surrounds us. There is no disincentive to people doing business here.
As recently as last Monday I launched the "Made in Canberra Region" campaign. This is part of a larger campaign to see the growth of business and economic development not only in the ACT but the whole region. I think it is important that we do not just consider that our interests end at the
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