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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 6 Hansard (24 May) . . Page.. 1658 ..

MR QUINLAN: I am asking the question of the Treasurer, who has given a very erudite answer to the previous question. He is quite capable of handling it himself. Can the Treasurer tell us what the result would have been for this year's budget had the same accounting processes that were used in 1995-1996 were used this year? Not hard.

MR SPEAKER: I am concerned about the hypothetical nature of this question.

MR HUMPHRIES: It is a type of hypothetical question, Mr Speaker. I agree with you.

Motor Vehicle Registration

MR OSBORNE: My question is to the Minister for Urban Services, Mr Smyth. Minister, I received a call yesterday from an elderly woman from Tuggeranong who gave me the most extraordinary account of her morning's encounter with the clever, caring government.

Mr Corbell: That was last year. It is the social-

MR OSBORNE: It was so extraordinary that I wanted to check whether or not this could be true. It was actually before the budget came down, Mr Corbell. Apparently this woman was attempting to arrange for the registration of the family car. It is a serious matter, Mr Speaker. She informed the motor registry official that her husband had died earlier this year, and she was seeking to renew the car registration in her name instead of in the joint names of her and her deceased husband. I trust that you can imagine, minister, how distraught this elderly woman became when she was informed that to change the name of the owner would require a payment additional to the regular percentage levy on the market value of the car. Minister, please tell me this incident could not be true. If so, is this what your government means by social capital?

MR SMYTH: I would have to investigate the circumstances that Mr Osborne raises. Unfortunately, when a loved one dies there is the need to transfer property and to do it appropriately. I will gain more information on how that process works.

Budget-Planning and Land Management

MR CORBELL: My question is also to the Minister for Urban Services. Minister, the document Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000-2001 Budget at a Glance reveals a cut to planning and land management of $4 million over the 1999-2000 budget. Will the minister explain to the Assembly how PALM can continue to deliver effective services with a $4 million cut in funding, and which areas will be affected?

MR SMYTH: This is not new news. We announced the findings of the review conducted by Ernst and Young last year that there were savings to be made in PALM, that there were great efficiencies to be achieved, and that by streamlining the process we could achieve better outcomes and more certainty. That figure is a known figure and will continue.

MR CORBELL: I ask the minister a supplementary question. What services to the community is PALM going to cut in order to absorb this $4 million deduction?

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