Page 3102 - Week 10 - Thursday, 18 October 2007
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unreasonable. This increase has occurred without announcement or publication by the government and, of course, is more than the stated amount.
I know that the government might think that a few more dollars is nothing, but on top of all the other increases we have endured, including property rates, the fire and emergency services levy, the utilities tax and the city heart levy, if a business has the misfortune of being located in Civic, with higher charges for water and the like, any increase becomes significant.
Doubtless the government thinks that increasing charges by 100 per cent or more over the last three years is nothing. Perhaps they think that most cafe and restaurants are highly profitable businesses run by wealthy individuals. The truth, however, is that most businesses in hospitality operate in a very competitive market on tight margins and feel very much the impact of government increases. We see that particularly with licensed premises. We have a massive number of licensed premises here compared with anywhere else in Australia because of the licensing model that was adopted in the 1960s. The fact is that many cafe and restaurants in Canberra are operated by families. They provide employment to many, many younger people, to people attending university or others starting off in their working career. They provide a vital service to this city and create vibrancy and sense of community that should be encouraged.
Most Canberra residents enjoy popping into a local cafe for a coffee or sandwich and as summer approaches the outdoor facilities of many venues are incredibly popular. But we also have to face the reality that outdoor facilities are not particularly appealing at different times of the year here, notwithstanding attempts by some proprietors to put outdoor heating facilities in place. But rather than encouraging the vibrancy that does exist, those opposite simply see this as another opportunity for revenue. Their eyes seem to light up as they realise that there is a profitable activity for business that they are not tapping into as much as they might possibly do. The mind is drawn, as unfortunately it often is with this government, to the comments of the former Treasurer, Mr Quinlan, who infamously said to business on 17 March 2005:
I will squeeze you until you bleed, not until you die.
I regret to say that this attitude has clearly not changed, as we have seen by the pronouncements of the Chief Minister in his refusal to make tax modifications despite the surplus funds that are available for the territory at this time. It seems that for this government business is an enemy, an ideological enemy, not something to be encouraged and recognised as a driving force behind the Canberra community and economy but merely another source of endless revenue. This should not be the case. Every government increase and every new charge hurts business and forces them to allocate more of their earnings to paying for the ACT government’s poor fiscal management of the territory. The government’s attitude is reflected in the way that these charges were presented to the industry.
Whilst the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services would have people believe that he consulted with industry about the charges, it was unfortunately the sort of consultation that the Canberra community has become so used to. I am not sure that
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