Page 1660 - Week 06 - Thursday, 13 August 1992
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MR CONNOLLY: Mr Stevenson certainly has an eagle eye for parking restrictions after hours in Canberra. There were some earlier questions about midnight loading zone parking. I must say that Mr Stevenson's eagle eye in this case is correct. For some reason, when those meters were put in and the 15-minute sign went up, the sign was an all-hours sign. When we went out to have a look at this - I thank Mr Stevenson for alerting me to the fact that he was interested in this particular area - we found that the signs that say "All Hours" should not say all hours; they should say business hours, through to late night trading on Friday and through to lunchtime on Saturday. I understand that, if they have not already been changed, they certainly will be changed by early next week. So, Mr Stevenson, that is certainly one for you in attention to detail.
Land Tax
MR DE DOMENICO: Madam Speaker, my question without notice is to the Chief Minister. Noting that the Chief Minister is still gloating about her perceived surplus in the recurrent budget, will she now reconsider alleviating the obvious hardship faced by many people in relation to residential land tax by allowing quarterly payments?
MS FOLLETT: Madam Speaker, I believe that I have answered this question once before. Members will know, of course, that the Government has taken very appropriate and responsible action in relation to the land tax. We have reacted to what were apparent anomalies and have made a number of concessions to people who would otherwise have been liable for land tax.
Mr De Domenico raises, yet again, the question of instalments or quarterly payments of land tax. I say again that that is not a matter which the Government has under consideration. There are a number of reasons for that. Whilst I am, of course, sympathetic to people's views that the land tax should not be payable at the same time as the rates - and have in fact changed those dates - I have to say that the introduction of quarterly or instalment payments of the land tax would be a cost to the Territory. It would cost, I am told, between some $500,000 and $600,000. That is a loss of revenue which we have not budgeted for, to be frank, and it would have to be made up in some way.
I repeat what I have said many times: If any individual or business is facing hardship as a result of land tax liability, they should take up that matter with the Commissioner for Revenue, because arrangements can be made to delay payment or delay some part of payment in order to take account of those hardship circumstances. But, on the question of instalment or quarterly payments, I repeat again that we are not considering that matter.
Healthy Cities Program
MS SZUTY: My question without notice is to the Minister for Health, Mr Berry. Minister, the healthy cities program was expecting to know before 1 July this year whether its funding would be continued. To my knowledge, future funding arrangements for healthy cities have yet to be confirmed. Will the Minister assure this Assembly that funding for healthy cities by the ACT Government will continue?
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