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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1997 Week 5 Hansard (15 May) . . Page.. 1519 ..

MRS CARNELL (continuing):

to us by the Council on the Ageing in Canberra that older people, who still tend to write very small cheques quite often, could be significantly disadvantaged - in fact, disadvantaged more than any other group - simply because of their continuing usage of cheques. That was the reason that we chose to go down the path we did. We did not want to disadvantage one group over another, Mr Speaker.

I would like to ask all members of the Assembly to think seriously before they go down the path of changing a money Bill. It is, I think, an extremely bad precedent to set in this place. If we change the financial or revenue raising capacity of this Bill, it is money that has to be found somewhere else in the budget. That, obviously, will come at the expense of services. We are simply not in a position now to raise other taxes. The budget has already been presented. Mr Speaker, I think that it would be very unfortunate to go down a path right now, with the current economic situation in the ACT, where we had to cut services in some particular place or provide fewer services to the community, simply because this Assembly chose to posture in this area. Certainly, a cost of $880,000 is not insignificant.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Detail Stage

Clauses 1 and 2, by leave, taken together, and agreed to.

Clause 3

MR WHITECROSS (Leader of the Opposition) (4.21): Mr Speaker, I seek leave to move together amendments Nos 1 and 2 circulated in my name.

Leave granted.

MR WHITECROSS: I move:

Page 2, line 35, subclause (1), insert the following definition:

" `disadvantaged person' means -

(a) a person who is a disadvantaged person; or

(b) a person in relation to whom a declaration by the Secretary to the Department of Social Security of the Commonwealth, that he or she is a disadvantaged person, is in force;

under Part I of the Health Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth;".

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