Page 175 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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in relation to freedom of information. This is the appropriate mechanism for it, so we will, of course, not be opposing this motion.
Question resolved in the affirmative.
Business—disaster recovery
Debate resumed.
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong—Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Minister for Corrections and Justice Health, Minister for Justice, Consumer Affairs and Road Safety and Minister for Mental Health) (3.18): It has been an interesting discussion that Mr Wall has triggered today. Even since he tabled the motion on Monday there has been some development in this space.
We will be supporting the government amendments to Mr Wall’s motion that are in circulation. Mr Wall’s motion and the subsequent amendments speak to the very real impact on the ACT of the national disasters we have spent some time talking about this week. As we all know, the smoke from the bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria has dramatically affected the ACT over many months. Some of us may have seen the social media posts illustrating the magnitude of the smoke, where it has affected New Zealand. There were some quite strong images circulating of the cloud arriving in New Zealand. I think I have even seen reports further afield of it showing up in South America and the like. There has been no question that the smoke has had a significant impact locally but, from a scientific, nerdy point of view it was fascinating to see the global impact.
The smoke has seen public institutions close, and I have no doubt that it has greatly affected the revenue of some local businesses, shops and retail outlets. We have seen the cancellation of events at the height of the summer holiday season, and I certainly appreciate the issues that Mr Wall has brought to the chamber today. There were days, particularly in December, when I paused to check the air quality before heading outside. I know this has also been a very real concern for families—particularly for families with young children—and for other vulnerable groups, such as those with heart and lung conditions, elderly folks and the like. As I flagged this morning in the earlier discussion, the smoke has been an issue for many members of our community. The road closures affecting the South Coast, from the Clyde to the Brown Mountain routes, have also impacted on our tourism, albeit not as great an economic shock as that suffered by the coastal areas.
The amendment of the Chief Minister clearly responds to the issues that Mr Wall has raised but goes further. As we all saw this morning, the ACT government has, in fact, been working diligently on securing commonwealth government funding support. I will briefly touch on Mr Wall’s call (2) about tax relief. The most obvious point is that most of the affected hospitality and tourism businesses already pay no payroll tax. Small and medium businesses are already below the threshold, so I do not believe that payroll tax deferral would offer any practical benefit for these businesses.
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