Page 1256 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 3 April 2019
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paying annually. Likewise, if you choose to pay quarterly, as many people struggling to make ends meet will do, the cost is $307.80. That is $72.50 extra in the course of a year. Those surcharge breakdowns disproportionately hurt those on lower incomes and those struggling with cash flow.
Likewise, we have seen recently the removal of the discount or the incentive payment applied to rates for those who paid annually, but the by-product of that is it penalised those who could not afford to pay their rates on an annual basis. The government could possibly move to a fairer model where quarterly payments received a discount, should they be paid on time. That would remove the need for reminders and other follow-up to be sent. It is very important that this Assembly makes clear the intent that those people who choose to make small frequent contributions and incremental payments for their government charges, fees, taxes are given the ability to do so without any additional penalty.
There are two ways of managing the pressure household budgets face when it comes to government fees and charges: fairer payment terms and a reduction in the fee being levied. The government obviously has a very clear agenda of increasing fees in many areas, particularly residential rates, but the least it can do is to make sure that those who choose to pay on flexible basis are not penalised for doing so.
One thing I am encouraged by that will help those in the business space is that Ms Cody’s motion refers to introducing incremental payment options for the registration of all vehicles. That is for both private and commercial vehicles. That is certainly what it says, and it is important that we consider extending flexible payment options to businesses in the ACT. Cash flow is king when you are running a small business, and if you can avoid large lump sum payments on an annual basis and spread them across a quarterly or a monthly basis it makes the day-to-day operation and the viability of many small and micro businesses in the ACT much more effective. I commend my amendment to Ms Cody’s motion to the Assembly.
MS CODY (Murrumbidgee) (11.21): This motion is all about making it fairer and easier for people in Canberra that are struggling on a daily basis to meet the often unexpected one-off payments, including fines. Obviously, those of us who drive register our vehicles, but it can still be difficult to pay the costs annually. I thank everyone for their input today. I also thank the Chief Minister for his words about investigating ways that we may be able to reduce some of the surcharges that apply to incremental payments. I look forward to hearing back from the government in the first sitting week of 2020 so that we can continue to move forward with a wonderful agenda of helping to support our community.
Amendment agreed to.
Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.
Schools—sport and physical education
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (11.23): I move:
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