Page 1094 - Week 04 - Thursday, 21 May 2020

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This government has been very, very slow when it comes to supporting Canberrans, supporting businesses and getting our economy going again. We were the last jurisdiction to put together a stimulus package, and even then so many of the measures were months and months in the making.

My proposal can be easily achieved. I expect the Chief Minister will say it is just too hard because some rates notices have been sent. When you go onto the revenue website and you type in your account number, it tells you how much you owe. It would not be very difficult for the ACT government to reduce that amount by $150 or, in the event that somebody has paid the full year, to give them a $150 credit or refund.

This is exactly the same process the government would have gone through with regard to the commercial rates fixed amount rebate. The fixed amount of $2,600 would have been paid by many businesses and those that paid upfront would have got a credit or a refund. That is exactly the same thing that could happen right here. Why can they not simply attach a $150 credit to every single rates notice or every single rates account?

I do not think this should be in the too-hard basket, as I expect the Chief Minister will say. Canberrans need this support now. The idea that you have to wait six months to get a $150 rebate is unreasonable, and the fact that it ties in with an election is pretty outrageous. My motion is a simple one: it recognises that Canberra households are doing it tough and that Canberra households need that $150 now.

MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality, Minister for Tourism and Special Events and Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment) (3.24): I move:

Omit all words after “That”, substitute:

“this Assembly notes that:

(1) the ACT Government determined that providing the general rates rebate of $150 for households in Q1 2020-21 best aligned with support payments provided by the Commonwealth, as well as other family and household assistance initiatives announced as part of the ACT Government Economic Survival Package, including:

(a) a $200 increase in the Utilities concession in Q4 2019-20;

(b) contributing up to $250 000 with utility providers to assist households severely impacted by COVID-19;

(d) freezing the Fire Emergency and Safety Levy at 2019-20 levels in 2020-21 for all ratepayers; and

(e) freezing car registration, parking fees and MyWay fares until the end of 2020-21;

(2) rates notices for Q4 2019-20 have already been provided to a number of households;

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