Page 2120 - Week 07 - Thursday, 16 June 1994
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One other factor that a number of people raised with me is that, having paid a greater proportion of rates than people in many other suburbs, they feel that they are not getting the same services - their footpaths are cracking or the streets are not being swept or, whatever the service is, they feel that it is inadequate. I hope that the new Minister will be as receptive as the old Minister to approaches of this nature, which I made quite regularly to Mr Connolly and received a good reception. I hope that that will continue. Madam Speaker, with those few doubts, I am happy to lend my support to this Bill.
MR DE DOMENICO (7.13): As Mr Kaine said, the Liberal Party will be supporting the Bill. To add to what Mr Moore has said, we have not come up with a better system and, for the life of me, I cannot understand how an age pensioner in Ainslie, for example, who may be living in a flat or a self-contained place can have a rating increase of 20.17 per cent, if these figures are right. I cannot verify that the Canberra Times has provided us with the correct figure. On the one hand, the person in Ainslie has a rate increase of 20.17 per cent, yet in Forrest the rate goes up by only 0.54 per cent. That seems to be inequitable. The best example I can use is a comparison of the two Tuggeranong suburbs of Banks and Bonython. If these figures are right, I am told that, for example, a property in Banks went from $63,900 in 1992 to $37,400 a year later - it halved its value in one year - but then went up again to $41,900. The increase this year is 12.6 per cent. A property in Bonython, which went from $52,000 to $54,000 to $53,000, has decreased by 2.26 per cent.
I do not know whether we can come up with a better system to make sure that people who live in Ainslie, for example, cannot say, "Why am I paying 20 per cent more than someone living in Red Hill? I am not getting 20 per cent more services than are being given in Red Hill and I am paying 20 per cent more". With those concerns, as Mr Kaine said, the Liberal Party will be supporting the Bill.
Mr Westende: Ours went up by 33 per cent last year.
MR DE DOMENICO: Yes, that may be the case, Mr Westende. Yours went up by 33 per cent last year and it went up by only 0.5 this year. It is not socially just for someone in Ainslie, Banks or Bonython to be paying 100 per cent more than someone in Red Hill or Forrest.
Mr Connolly: The person in Forrest is paying more, but the level of increase in Banks is more. It is a very different thing.
MR DE DOMENICO: I know, Mr Connolly; I am aware of that.
MS FOLLETT (Chief Minister and Treasurer) (7.16), in reply: I thank Mr Kaine, Mr Moore and Mr De Domenico for their comments. There was a considerable amount of comment from both Mr Kaine and Mr Moore that I agree with. I would like to start my concluding remarks by making some general observations. Firstly, if members refer to Budget Paper No. 2, on page 72 they will see a table presented of the comparative per capita general rates. I know that this table is a couple of years old, but I do not
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