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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 6 Hansard (16 May) . . Page.. 1688 ..

MR QUINLAN (continuing):

The government does not wish to make a windfall gain in the form of increased duty on higher premiums, and the proposals in the Duties (Insurance Exemptions) Amendment Bill 2002 are to provide price relief in the hands of the end user.

Mr Speaker, the bill amends the Duties Act 1999 to allow the minister to make guidelines which will limit the exemptions to private liability insurance and other general insurance prescribed by the guidelines. The guidelines are a disallowable instrument, and they will state the circumstances in which an exemption from duty is permitted, the extent of the exemption and the procedures to be followed to apply for the exemption.

Under the guidelines, immediate assistance will be provided to amateur sporting and community bodies which are run on a not-for-profit basis and pursue their objectives and incur expenditure principally in the ACT. Supporting evidence will be provided to the satisfaction of the Commissioner for ACT Revenue, who will determine eligibility. The guidelines will be tabled in the Assembly as soon as is practicable after the passage of the bill.

Exemption will be extended to cases where eligible group or pooled policies are taken out on behalf of an eligible not-for-profit body, and the proportion of premium that applies to, and has been paid for by, the ACT body will be exempt from duty.

Mr Speaker, I commend the Duties (Insurance Exemptions) Amendment Bill 2002 to the Assembly.

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

Cemeteries and Crematoria Bill 2002

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

Title read by Clerk.

MR WOOD (Minister for Urban Services and Minister for the Arts) (10.37): I move:

That this bill be agreed in principle.

I have pleasure today in presenting the Cemeteries and Crematoria Bill 2002. The bill has been developed in response to the national competition policy review of the Cemeteries Act 1933 and the Cremation Act 1966. The report of the review examined the ACT cemeteries and cremation legislation to ensure that the protection of public cemeteries and the management of public cemeteries and private grounds occurs as effectively and as efficiently as possible, in accordance with the national competition policy.

The review report was provided to the former government, which accepted two of the consultant's three major recommendations:

streamlining the legislation covering cemeteries and cremation in the ACT, including removing outdated parts of the legislation and regulations and consolidating the two acts into one; and

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