Page 2491 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 June 2011
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about quite so much, she would have done the Assembly the courtesy of referring this to the scrutiny of bills committee. She would have extended that courtesy, but it did not suit her. All of the high-flown talk about the Latimer House principles, about openness and accountability, about being a responsive government and about listening to the people flies out the window when it ceases to be convenient for the people who are pushing a particular barrow. The barrow of Katy Gallagher and Meredith Hunter here tonight is to screw money out of the people of the ACT when they are trying to get into the housing market. That is what it is all about.
Katy Gallagher sits there and says, “Our research shows that these taxes will have no impact at all.” Mr Seselja is right. If these taxes have no impact at all, make them bigger. The fact that you have a system of remissions shows that it is a problem. What you call transition is actually limiting the damage in the first couple of years in the run-up to the election. That is what it is. This is a damaging piece of legislation that will damage the way we develop in this city, the way people buy houses. It will have a kick-on effect to standard residential. All of these things will have a huge effect, and when this goes wrong Katy Gallagher, Meredith Hunter and their supporters will be brought to book for it.
MR BARR (Molonglo—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Education and Training and Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation) (9.03): The series of amendments that Ms Hunter has moved and the process associated with this important tax reform and this important structural reform—
Mrs Dunne: Here we go. “I’m the only eco rep in the village. I can talk about structural reform.”
MR SPEAKER: Thank you, Mrs Dunne. Mr Barr has the floor.
MR BARR: Thank you, Mr Speaker. I appreciate the lead-in from Mrs Dunne. They are a series of important reforms, not only to ensure an equitable outcome for everyone in the community but to put an end to some unfortunate distortions that have been occurring in the marketplace. The Treasurer was absolutely right in earlier parts of this debate to identify a number of concerns that have arisen as a result of current arrangements.
As Mrs Dunne wandered off on a particular path and sought to pursue a particular argument, she neglected in her contribution to acknowledge current arrangements and the current circumstances in a number of areas. Firstly, in terms of the incidence of the tax, of the charge, she paid no accord at all to the relative elasticities of supply and demand in this marketplace or the fact that there might be second and third order adjustments as the market adjusts to a new set of arrangements. So she came up with perhaps the most ridiculous of statements—that the incidence of the tax, of the charge, will fall wholly—
Mr Coe interjecting—
MR SPEAKER: Order, members!
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