Page 2094 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Mr Broughton replied:
Actually, they are tracking slightly below.
Mr Seselja asked:
So we are expecting less payroll tax this financial year than what is actually in the budget?
Mr Broughton replied:
We may get less, but at the moment it is still difficult to say.
Yet the dissenting report now asserts, in direct contradiction to the evidence the committee was given and with no reference to any other information, that we can now expect to collect more. Page 39 of the dissenting report expresses concern at the growth forecasts in the budget papers. Again, I refer to the ACIL Tasman report, which states at page 3:
A forecast of 3¾ per cent for 2009-10 appears reasonable …
Again, there is no acknowledgement of the expert advice that the committee received.
Having expressed those disappointments, I would like to make the point that a number of significant issues have been identified. There is no need to make up more or to use hyperbole and make mountains out of issues that do have reasonable explanations. Doing this only detracts from the real concerns and real issues.
I would, on behalf of the committee, like to thank the ministers and officials who appeared at the public hearings and the departmental staff who assisted in the overall process. I refer in particular to the preparation of the responses to the high volume of questions on notice and questions taken on notice; all the staff at Hansard and, of course, the secretariat staff, and particularly Dr Sandra Lilburn, who did a fantastic job researching and collecting all the information and assisting the committee in the preparation of the report.
Just going back to the format of the report, it is a comprehensive report. What it has done for each of the hearings is to take the key issues and put some of those key issues down in dot point form with a very clear reference to the Hansard. This is a document that will live beyond this estimates process. It will be a very useful document for those who want to follow up on issues during annual reports hearings, for instance, or who want to follow up in other ways through questions on notice or through changes to legislation. In a whole lot of ways this report will be a great reference for members of this place.
I think we have come up with a good list of recommendations. There are 46 recommendations in the report that cover a good range of issues.
I would also like to thank those community organisations who gave their time to appear before the committee and give evidence to the committee. A number of those
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