Page 2281 - Week 08 - Wednesday, 5 June 2013
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MADAM SPEAKER: Resume your seat, Mr Barr. Point of order.
Mr Seselja: Madam Speaker, apart from getting Mr Barr to withdraw the last comment, made as I was getting to my feet—I ask him to do that—he is not being relevant at all to the question now. It is around the tax reforms. The question was very specific about whether the Treasurer still stands by his commitment that he can complete the reforms without tripling rates. He has not answered the question.
MADAM SPEAKER: Before you sit down, Mr Seselja, I was telling Mr Barr to sit down and I did not hear what it is that you assert that he said should be withdrawn.
Mr Seselja: I prefer not to have to repeat the slur on the Leader of the Opposition. Mr Barr knows what he said. He might just withdraw it.
Mr Rattenbury: I might assist, Madam Speaker, if you wish. I believe—
MADAM SPEAKER: Point of order, Mr Rattenbury?
Mr Rattenbury: No, no. You did not hear. I believe Mr Barr described Mr Hanson as an economic imbecile.
MADAM SPEAKER: Would you like to withdraw the comment? We have had this discussion over and over again, Mr Barr, about how we address people in this place. Would you withdraw the comment.
MR BARR: I withdraw, Madam Speaker.
MADAM SPEAKER: On the point of order, Mr Hanson did ask you did you stand by your commitments in relation to rates. I would ask you to be directly relevant to the question.
MR BARR: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Yes, I stand by my commitments in relation to rates.
Let me make it very clear what will occur over the remainder of this parliamentary term. The government will progressively reduce taxes on insurance and on stamp duty. Rates will be used to replace lost revenue, and rates increases in each year for the next two years will have three components: the wage price index, revenue replacement for the abolition of insurance taxes and revenue replacement for the abolition of stamp duty. Insurance taxes will be completely abolished by 1 July 2016. From then on, we will no longer need to replace revenue from the abolition of insurance taxes. The rates increases from that point onwards will simply be the WPI plus the stamp duty component. On current projections for WPI, that is three per cent next year. If we then had a three per cent stamp duty replacement component, rates would go up six per cent.
My expectation at this point—there are variables here: what the WPI is in any given year, and do we accept that? The circus over there accepts that point. There will then
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