Page 5343 - Week 12 - Thursday, 28 October 2010
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Question so resolved in the negative.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Water, Minister for Energy and Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (5.36), by leave: I move amendments Nos 5 and 6 circulated in my name together [see schedule 1 at page 5350].
The government is moving these amendments to remove the requirement for licensees to provide information to the commissioner about the volume of liquor purchased for sale and the date of each purchase. After consultation with the industry, the government agreed that, on balance, this requirement would place an undue burden on licensees.
The amendment also corrects a reference to the term “the year” with “the financial year”. Licensees are required to provide the purchase information for the financial year, not the calendar year. The other change relates to the description of the defined term from “gross price” to “gross wholesale price” to better reflect what is defined.
MR RATTENBURY (Molonglo) (5.37): The Greens will be supporting both of these amendments. Amendment No 5 streamlines the transitional process and makes the task of applying for a licence easier the first time around. Amendment No 6 just corrects a drafting error, and we will be supporting that.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (5.37): The Canberra Liberals will support the government’s amendments in this case. These amendments reduce the detail of liquor purchase information required to be submitted to the commissioner during the term of the expiring licence. Information provided is to enable the commissioner to determine the relevant licence fee to be levied. I do not think it is necessary to get the blood type or the birth date of the wholesaler to do that. The level of detail required was unreasonable.
I think this is one of the few times in this debate that the government have listened and responded to the concerns of the industry, and I thank them for that small gesture. The liquor licensing fee restructure, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. I think there has been very little listening and response in that regard. We have a little movement on determining the fee, but the fee schedule itself is problematic and perhaps a debate for another day.
We will be supporting amendment No 5 and the other amendment, which clarifies the terminology used in relation to the gross wholesale price being the price used in providing the purchase data to the commissioner. These are worthy amendments which we will support.
Amendments agreed to.
MRS DUNNE (Ginninderra) (5.39), by leave: I move amendments Nos 14 and 15 circulated in my name together [see schedule 2 at page 5354].
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