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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 4 Hansard (29 March) . . Page.. 1153 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

Insurance Levy Legislation Repeal Bill 2001

Debate resumed from 8 March 2001, on motion by Mr Smyth , on behalf of Mr Humphries:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR QUINLAN (12.06): Again I will speak very briefly because we have a busy program today. The opposition is happy to support this bill which repeals a quite iniquitous tax that has generated a tax upon a tax. Quite obviously it has not been a very popular method of revenue raising and we are very, very happy to see that it is to be discontinued.

MR HUMPHRIES (Chief Minister, Minister for Community Affairs and Treasurer) (12.07), in reply: Mr Speaker, once again I thank the opposition for its support for the bill. I also am happy to see the end of the insurance levy. I hope that other means can be built in the future to guarantee the ACT's liquidity. I am sure that ACT residents will not much miss the insurance levy.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to .

Tree Protection (Interim Scheme) Bill 2001

Debate resumed.

MR CORBELL (12.08): Mr Speaker, tree protection in the ACT, or the lack thereof, has been a growing issue of public concern for a number of years now. Just over six months ago the Standing Committee on Planning and Urban Services received a response from the ACT government in relation to its report on appropriate tree protection mechanisms for the ACT. The government's response dealt with the issues raised in the committee's inquiry and report on tree protection issues in the ACT and the need to preserve Canberra as a garden city.

Canberra has a significant heritage and legacy of tree plantings and studies into the use of trees in an urban environment. Indeed, the character of the city is defined by its relationship with the landscape, and the planted trees as well as the remnant native trees are a very important element of the city's relationship with the landscape.

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