Page 3748 - Week 12 - Thursday, 21 October 1993
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It is noted in the Chief Minister's presentation speech that the Business Franchise (Tobacco and Petroleum Products) Act 1984 imposes business franchise licence fees on the supply of tobacco and petroleum products in the ACT in order to regulate the activities of these industries and as a source of general revenue. While the Chief Minister's presentation speech refers to the current scheme as being inequitable, it does not say that these measures had been examined in the context of a general review of concessions and exemptions available to the residents of the ACT. Although members of this Assembly are aware of the work that has been done in this area, it would be fair to say that it has not been stated explicitly that the removal of exemptions in this area has meant the extension of concessions to others affected by other areas of government.
Over the last two weeks I have received representations from many people concerned about the application of these measures - from construction companies saying that they would relocate their businesses to New South Wales; from members of the Rural Lessees Association concerned that they will no longer be granted exemptions; and from people living on superannuation benefits, who will experience hardship as a result of losing their exemptions with regard to the heating of their homes. Officers of the ACT Revenue Office have also provided me with further information about the details of diesel fuel exemption certificates issued and the litres of diesel fuel purchased.
It is important to consider the three major groupings of people who will be affected by these legislative changes. The first is the farmers. If the exemption certificates for diesel fuel are withdrawn, farmers are in an anomalous position in comparison with other farmers elsewhere in Australia and especially in New South Wales. Farmers do, however, currently receive a Commonwealth diesel fuel excise rebate of 26c per litre. In fact, the briefing notes which have been provided to both Mr Moore and me by the ACT Revenue Office state that primary producers in the ACT are already in receipt of a Commonwealth diesel fuel excise rebate of 26c per litre. This is significant assistance which the Commonwealth does not provide to the construction industry.
It is further said that primary producers are therefore not considered disadvantaged in the context of the target group for benefits under the revised diesel fuel exemption scheme. We are talking about 53 farmers who purchased 243,888 litres of diesel fuel between 1 November 1992 and 6 October 1993. These farmers compete with others in New South Wales for the sale of their produce, and it seems to me that we should not be imposing an additional burden on them. During the detail stage of the debate my colleague Mr Moore will move a series of amendments to restore exemption certificates for farmers.
One of the other groups of people affected by these proposed changes is industry. There is also no question that industry will be disadvantaged as a result of the introduction of these measures. One hundred and seventy-two exemption certificates have been issued to industry and 8,652,212 litres of diesel fuel was purchased between 1 November 1992 and 6 October 1993. Representations to me from the Master Builders Association have centred on the difficulty of ensuring compliance with the new measures which are proposed by this legislation. I would like to thank Mr Bernie Bryant, the executive director of the Master Builders Association, in particular for the work that he has done in drawing potential difficulties with the legislation to my attention. As a result of his efforts, clarification on issues of compliance has been reached.
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