Page 122 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 22 February 1994

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MINISTER FOR URBAN SERVICES

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION

QUESTION NO 1133

Farm Vehicles : Primary Producers Markets

Mr Moore - asked the Minister for Urban Services:

(1) Can the Minister explain why the ACT registration charges for farm vehicles are so

different from NSW.

(2) Will the Minister maintain this discrepancy under a National Registration

Scheme.

(3) Is the Minister aware that there are no primary producers' markets in the

ACT; if so, is the Government intending to subsidise ACT producers so that

they can compete on a level playing field with their NSW counterparts.

Mr Connolly - the answer to the Member's question is as follows:

(1) NSW allows a wide range of concessions for farm use vehicles which form part of

the "primary producer" category in NSW. Concessions for registration charges for

farm use vehicles are not available in the ACT.

(2) Under a National Registration Scheme, the provision of concessions will be at the

discretion of State and Territory governments. The Government has no intention of

reintroducing concessions for farm use vehicles at this time.

(3) In May 1993, a pre-feasibility study was undertaken by the Chief Minister's

Department into the establishment of a wholesale regional producers' market. The

study indicated that:

in its present form there would be little support from major potential purchasers for a producers' market as producers may be unable to maintain a consistent supply of a wide range of produce;

purchasers would incur additional costs by buying at a local producers' market and these are unlikely to be offset by less expensive goods; and

information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that for six selected fruit and vegetable items, the average price in Canberra is already six cents per kilogram lower than in Sydney.

Given all of these factors, the study found it to be unlikely that a regional producers' market would be commercially viable. The Government has no plans to subsidise the development of such a market.


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