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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 3 Hansard (8 March) . . Page.. 833 ..

MR SPEAKER: Standing order 171 covers it. It says:

There is no allowance, unfortunately, Mr Kaine.

Mr Kaine: I will make the speech at the appropriate time.

MR SPEAKER: You can. The Assembly may give you leave to speak now.

MR KAINE: Mr Speaker, I seek leave to speak on the matter.

Leave granted.

MR KAINE: I really did want to make the point that at the time this iniquitous levy was imposed I described it as taxation by stealth, which it was. The Chief Minister maintained that this was a levy on insurance companies, and even he could not have been so naive as to believe that it would have been passed on to those people who had insured. It was, and it became, a tax on those responsible people in our community who insured their property. Those who did not insure their property, those irresponsible people, have been laughing all the way to the bank for the last two or three years, because they did not pay it. The responsible people in this community have been carrying the burden of this iniquitous levy. It should never have been imposed in the first place.

The Chief Minister announced last June that it was going to be removed, but not until July of this year, so he perpetuated this iniquitous tax by stealth for another year. For what purpose and for what reason I do not know. It looks now that the Assembly will be given the opportunity to repeal this tax that was imposed by stealth and that was erroneously and deliberately described by the current Chief Minister as being a levy on insurance companies, which it never was.

It is well past time that this repeal bill has been brought before this place, and I hope that when it comes to the debate the repeal is immediate and not from 1 July as the Chief Minister foreshadowed when he indicated nine months ago that the repeal bill would be put before the Assembly. It should take effect immediately, and I hope the Assembly agrees with that when the debate takes place.

Debate (on motion by Mr Quinlan ) adjourned to the next sitting.

Cemeteries and Crematoria Bill 2001

Mr Smyth, pursuant to notice, presented the bill and its explanatory memorandum.

Title read by Clerk.

MR SMYTH (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Business, Tourism and the Arts and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (11.02): I move:

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