Page 1637 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 12 May 2015
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they die. Our current Chief Minister and Treasurer was working for then Minister Hargreaves at that time, and he obviously learned a few interesting tactics that he has not forgotten, because our taxes and our rates are all going up. Mr Quinlan’s quote will come back to haunt Mr Barr a little, as it does Ted Quinlan.
Rental properties have also not missed the hit in increasing government fees and charges. Renters ultimately pay the increasing cost of rates and land tax, which raked in nearly $80 million for the government in the 2013-2014 financial year, and the LVC is strangling entry of new residential developments close to the city and town centres.
These extra fees and charges are not going back to the people of Canberra but, rather, are funding the government’s extravagant light rail plans. The territory’s budget is over $700 million in deficit, and with the plans for light rail, that is set to increase dramatically. Yet Mr Barr still thinks we can afford light rail. Many in the community are becoming more and more sceptical about and frightened of this blind vision to have light rail probably 30 years earlier than Canberra should have it. The priority of this government is causing people a lot of concern.
The result for Canberrans is that these fees and charges will not be reduced by a government that continues to spend and tax the community to fund its expensive dreams. It is clear that lowering people’s cost of living is not at the forefront of this government’s mind. The importance of low government fees and charges imposed on Canberrans is something the Canberra Liberals strongly believe in. We continue to regularly speak about the cost of living pressures facing families in Canberra, but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
As I have said before, increasing fees and charges are affecting real people in the Canberra community. I know this from my own experiences with constituents in my seat of Molonglo. A lot of my constituents live in areas deemed to be above average in earning capacity, and there are obviously people who fall into this category. But a large and growing number of people are seriously affected by the increasing cost of living pressures from living in these areas. They are elderly pensioners who have lived in these areas all their lives. They bought houses 40, 50 years ago and now, in their twilight years, they face the prospect of having to sell their homes as they simply cannot afford the ever-increasing fees and charges placed on them by this government, especially the rates increases.
At a time when people should be enjoying their retirement years, they face uncertainty, fear and upheaval in their lives, especially with rates. These can now total thousands a year. I have met with many of these people throughout my time in office, and the message from these people and the Canberra community is a message that is lost on this government and this crossbench. They refuse to listen to the community that the people of Canberra are facing pressures they have never faced before. After nearly 16 years of a Labor government, they are starting to see the folly of the partnership that has been formed and that is more intent on delivering an ideological solution through the light rail than looking at the real needs of the Canberra community.
Not only is it important to reduce fees and charges on the cost of living but it is also important to reduce them on small business. Small business plays an important role in
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