Page 1499 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 10 April 2013
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to improve the amenity and accessibility of bus stations throughout the city, the upgrading of roads, the upgrading and maintenance of public parks, and providing essential walking and cycling infrastructure.
With respect to the point of the establishment of the urban improvement fund and the hypothecation of revenue from the lease variation charge, the way that the urban improvement fund operates is that the lease variation charge that comes in in the financial year previously is then hypothecated to the lease variation charge in the following financial year.
With respect to the quote that Mr Smyth referred to in his presentation, about being funded in arrears, the important word, the operative word, there is “funded” in arrears. So we collect the revenue first and then we allocate it out in the following financial year. That way we are not over-allocating against the lease variation charge collections from the previous year.
Of course, the government also maintains within its capital program a capital upgrades program and we make provision for new capital works. So in any given budget, the amount expended on urban improvement will contain elements of capital upgrades, elements of the urban improvement fund and any other decisions the government makes through the budget round to allocate funding towards projects that improve the urban amenity.
The question for the opposition, in consistently raising this, really is: why then did you not go to the last election promising to abolish the lease variation charge? Do you or do you not support the principle of betterment? Do you or do you not support it?
Mr Smyth interjecting—
MR BARR: This is the question in the end. If Mr Smyth had the courage of his convictions, perhaps if he was like Richard Mulcahy, he would move a motion or seek to—
Mr Smyth: If I was like Richard Mulcahy, I would not be here, would I?
MR BARR: That day will happen.
Mr Smyth: That day will happen to us all, Andrew. It will be interesting to see when your day comes.
MR BARR: Indeed. It will be interesting to see whether yours comes before mine.
MADAM SPEAKER: Order, Mr Barr! Would you address the chair? Mr Smyth, would you cease interjecting, please?
MR BARR: Apologies, Madam Speaker. The challenge for the opposition is to state their position in relation to this particular charge. If Mr Smyth has the courage of his convictions, he should move, during a private members’ day, not to have further inquiries, because we have certainly canvassed this extensively, but to abolish it. He
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