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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 6 Hansard (19 June) . . Page.. 2111 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

package of financial initiatives for the year 2003-04, although I do not believe it is formally part of the 2003-04 budget process. It is therefore possible for us to debate this bill separately from the budget and consider the merits of the bill in detail.

Mr Speaker, there has been considerable discussion of the proposed new rating system that is the subject of this bill. This discussion has ranged from general issues of possible rating systems, the relationship between revenue derived from rates and the provision of funding of government services, to the foundation on which the present government has based its proposed new system.

From the perspective of the Liberal opposition, we have not been convinced about the need for, or the basis of, the government's proposal. We see considerable inequity and a lack of fairness resulting from the proposed new system. We are disappointed at the lack of analysis undertaken by the government in proposing a change to the property rating system. We are disturbed that a full assessment of the proposed policy did not appear to have been undertaken, when this would be a significant change in policy, affecting a major source of revenue for the ACT and imposing a major cost burden to many ACT ratepayers.

I observe at the outset that the proposal from the Treasurer and the government has all the hallmarks of being cobbled together very quickly, with little thought for such important notions as equity of impact on revenue-raising policies and the fairness of creating substantial differentials in rates between adjoining and similar residential properties. These are issues of considerable concern to me, the Liberal Party, the rate-paying community of the ACT, the commercial community of the ACT and to many people in general across the territory.

Why is this change being proposed? As far as we can discern, the Treasurer has been convinced, by a small number of people, that they are, or have been, disadvantaged by the current rating system.

This bill has been designed to look after the long-term residents in parts of Canberra who have sought to ameliorate the impact of higher rates. Whilst I acknowledge that that is a problem, we do not believe this bill is the appropriate answer. In reality, this bill is not an equitable approach. That is evident in both the representations made to the committee and public comment in response to this bill.

The Treasurer has still not provided any real substance to his proposals to support this major change in policy, and he has not provided any substantive argument against the present rating system in the ACT. He has at least attempted to provide the community with more information than he provided initially.

We recall the one-page graph the Treasurer lauded as the model for his new system. He said in this place on 12 March this year, "The only modelling we have done is one graph."That is one graph, comprising one page. What a ridiculous nonsense that notion is-to support a change of this magnitude, which is one of the major sources of revenue for the ACT, using a single graph with two lines on it! That is a pathetic attempt. It is a very sloppy approach by this Treasurer to bluff his way through the process of policy change-or was it simply disdain, as he sought to get his way, with a minimum of public scrutiny?

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