Page 2330 - Week 08 - Friday, 21 June 1991
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of the anomalies from the rates collection business. So, Mr Speaker, as I have said, speaking for the Liberal Party, we support these two Bills in principle.
MR COLLAERY (7.18): Mr Speaker, the Residents Rally also supports these Bills in principle. I thank the Chief Minister for being willing to provide advance information on the Bills to us. I welcome her decision to proceed with the reform of the ACT's rating system. The decision to have annual valuations has been made possible only by the enormous work and dedication of the officials on the valuation and associated computer project.
Three-yearly valuations can result in some large movements. In the sample information provided to us by the Chief Minister there are increases in rateable values of 26.2 per cent for Monash and 23.2 per cent for Page. Plainly, such large increases may cause hardship to some of the residents in those suburbs. Our ratepayers should be informed of the existing provisions for deferred payments for compassionate cases. Of course, an annual rating system will produce far fewer of these unpleasant surprises.
It should be remembered, Mr Speaker, that increased rate valuations represent increased capital enrichment. For commercial tenants this is not the case. They have to pay increased rates under their subleases but do not have the compensating benefit of capital enrichment. However, the Rally's private members' Bill on commercial tenancies, which we hope to introduce shortly, will remedy this by providing greater security to tenants so that the value of their goodwill, their capital asset, is retained.
Mr Speaker, the new Government is faced with overcoming a major deficit in the coming budget, a deficit which has been magnified by actual cuts in Commonwealth grants to the ACT at the Premiers Conference. The ACT Treasury has estimated that these cuts could amount to $40m in real terms.
The rates Bill is a major component of the budget strategy; so it is timely to examine the implications of the deficit. As the Grants Commission has pointed out, most of the deficit is accounted for by high levels of expenditure in health and education relative to the other States. While savings need to be made in all areas of the ACT Government, it is in fact health and education which offer the greatest potential. The single principal hospital was seen as a way to save costs as well as to provide for high technology and high cost hospital services in an affordable way.
The Rally always had concerns about the fast-tracking approach to the development of the principal hospital, and events have proved that our fears were well founded. As the Enfield report pointed out, the health department's finance and management systems are defective. Taking on such a large and complex project as the redevelopment has
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