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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 7 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 2025 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

collect the duties that we do collect on marketable securities, and so on. We are very happy to see that the Treasury is still making money.

MR HUMPHRIES: (Chief Minister, Minister for Community Affairs and Treasurer) (12.17), in reply: I thank Mr Quinlan for his support of this bill. It is mainly a technical bill, but I hope it is seen as a matter that will address the important changes which have taken place at the Commonwealth level and will facilitate our legislation in the ACT to be contemporary and effective.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill agreed to in principle.

Leave granted to dispense with the detail stage.

Bill agreed to.

Goods and Services Tax (Temporary Transitional Provisions) Amendment Bill 2001

Debate resumed from 13 June 2001, on motion by Mr Humphries:

MR QUINLAN (12.18): I am getting sick of this-agreeing with the government, supporting the government. We will be supporting this bill, as it only extends the period for transitional arrangements to be made for the introduction of the goods and services tax. We know what a horrendous burden the goods and services tax has been on the nation and how much difficulty it has caused people at all levels. I do not see why the government or the administration should be any different, so we are happy for them to have the extra time to adjust to this pernicious taxation regime.

MR HUMPHRIES (Chief Minister, Minister for Community Affairs and Treasurer) (12.19), in reply: I thank Mr Quinlan for his support for the bill. Indeed, it does deal with an issue that arises from the goods and services tax. I won't enter into debate about the effectiveness or otherwise of the goods and services tax, but I will say that it is important that we make sure that, when we collect fees and charges in the ACT, we are able at the same time to collect the GST that relates to it.

I recall that there was considerable debate in this place, when we debated this legislation on an earlier occasion, about the extent to which parliament should legislate for taxes and the extent to which ministers can make taxes by determination. There is much less heat in the debate today, and I think that reflects the fact that there has been some reconsideration of the positions taken in the earlier debate.

The reason we have to extend this legislation today is that a recommendation given to the Committee on Justice and Community Safety to deal with this issue has not yet been satisfied-I understand because there is some difficulty about the positions that some members have taken on this in the past. We will have to deal with this in due course.

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