Page 2211 - Week 06 - Thursday, 7 June 2018
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health services, rather than the government’s current approach, which has been to throw money at the problem and hope it goes away.
The newest member of the Canberra Liberals team, Candice Burch, has shown herself to be a vocal and effective advocate for public transport. She is fighting for a government that delivers what taxpayers are actually paying for.
Mark Parton has tirelessly gone into bat for people who simply enjoy greyhound racing. The fact that Mark has had to fight so hard for them demonstrates just how far this Labor Party has drifted from its base. In the same week that the government banned greyhound racing, it encouraged young people to take illicit party pills. Jeremy Hanson has been resolute in his advocacy for the safety and wellbeing of young Canberrans.
Madam Speaker, we will keep standing up for Canberrans—Canberrans that are paying more and getting less. This government is bringing in record revenue. For the first time, this year’s budget shows that revenue will reach $7 billion. For all the talk of a surplus, the borrowings in the territory’s operating statement will be $224 million next year and a staggering $680 million the following year.
That is why our net debt grows to $2.9 billion in 2021. In fact, over the next four years, taxpayers will fork out $1 billion in interest. If we were really in surplus, debt and interest payments would not be growing. In this budget, stamp duty brings in more per year than it did when the abolition was announced. In reality, house prices are increasing faster than stamp duty is decreasing.
For example, a house in Ashkanasy Crescent in Evatt was sold in 2012 with a stamp duty bill of $15,342. That same house sold a few months ago with a stamp duty bill of $16,385. So for that same house the actual stamp duty has increased. This story is replicated thousands of times across Canberra. In addition to the stamp duty, the rates for that house in Evatt have increased by $1,000 per year. This government is gouging them when they buy and then penalising them for living in Canberra.
In 2012 Andrew Barr said that rates would not triple and stamp duty would be abolished. He was wrong on both counts. The Labor Party have betrayed Canberrans. They have let down our city. This Labor-Greens government cannot be trusted.
The personal cost of Labor’s rates hike is just too high. For an average house in Palmerston, rates bills are now $2,300; in Wanniassa, the bill is $2,400; in Rivett, $2,500; in Florey, $2,400. This is extraordinary. When those opposite say, “It is not that much money,” it demonstrates just how out of touch they are.
The fear that so many households get when they receive a $600 quarterly bill should not be underestimated. For thousands of households in Canberra, to receive a $600 bill is just too much. We need to stop these rates increases. Rates in Canberra must be capped. Be it residential or commercial, the rates increases are having a devastating impact.
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