Page 418 - Week 01 - Thursday, 11 December 2008
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
interest rates of early 2008 and remains under pressure. The recent reduction in interest rates and petrol prices has not yet had an impact and it would be reasonable to suggest that in the current climate new first homebuyers are reluctant to take the huge step of purchasing a home.
The last thing we need to do in this place is to be slow to pass on to prospective new homebuyers any incentive which will enable them to get into their first home and at the same time provide a boost to the ACT when most needed. To now delay in moving commonwealth funding to the ACT, which is essentially all that is involved here, would have an adverse effect on the housing sector in the new year, a time when traditionally many new homebuyers move to the ACT.
MS GALLAGHER (Molonglo—Treasurer, Minister for Health, Minister for Community Services and Minister for Women) (8.49): This line in the second appropriation is a fully funded commonwealth initiative, as other members have said tonight. The commonwealth will make monthly payments to the ACT for the expected payments to first homebuyers in the ACT and these payments from the commonwealth will be adjusted to reflect the actual payments made by the ACT. As the money received from the commonwealth will automatically go to the territory banking account, Treasury requires this appropriation in order to make the payments. However, there will be no impact on the territory’s net operating balance.
In terms of the mortgage relief fund, like all budgets or mini-budgets or appropriations like this, we did look very closely at what should go in and what needed to wait. In relation to the mortgage relief fund, the advice from the department to me was that further work needed to be done on refining the model to be put in place and who should run the mortgage relief fund. Those decisions were not ready in time to appropriate money in the 2008-09 second appropriation. That is the story. The model was not ready. I know there is non-government organisational interest in running the scheme. Because we have not been in the business of doing it before, it is just taking a bit more time.
On the land rent scheme, I need to take some more advice on it. I do not have the answer with me tonight, but I am happy to provide you with a briefing or update the Assembly in February on the land rent scheme.
Subclause 7(6) agreed to.
Subclauses 7(7) and 7(8).
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (8.51): Subclauses (7) and (8) refer to the Territory and Municipal Services Department and can be found in some detail on page 43. They relate to the RSPCA, the national league teams, motorsport, tourism and cycling infrastructure. In regard to the national league teams, it is interesting that some money is provided to waive certain debts associated with the Brumbies establishing their headquarters at Griffith some years ago. This has been a matter that the Brumbies have been keen to see cleared up for some years now, and the minister for sport might assist us with some more of the history. I understand that it started as a very small debt and that most of the money that will be used, the revenue forgone, the $265,000, is in fact interest payments because of the intransigence of the government in clearing
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .