Page 1503 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 April 1991
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The ACT Public Trustee is a corporation sole governed by the provisions of the Public Trustee Act 1985 and administered within the Department of Justice and Community Services. The Public Trustee's main function is the administration of deceased estates, including drafting wills, acting as executor and investment of estate funds pending final distribution to beneficiaries. The Public Trustee also represents people under powers of attorney and represents persons under a disability as next friend in legal proceedings.
In June 1990, Deloittes was engaged as consultant by my department to review the operations of the Public Trustee with a view to increasing the general efficiency of the office and developing a strategy for ensuring its financial self-sufficiency and eliminating the call on the ACT budget. At the same time the important community service provided by the Public Trustee was to be recognised.
The Public Trustee (Amendment) Bill 1991 contains provisions to implement one of the measures recommended by the consultant. The Public Trustee (Amendment) Bill gives the Public Trustee the capacity to charge a management fee in respect of moneys in the Public Trustee's common fund. The amount of the fee for each estate, trust or person having money in the common fund is to be calculated by reference to rates or scales of charges set by the responsible Minister. These rates or scales will be set out in an instrument which will be open to the scrutiny of the Assembly, and may be disallowed by this Assembly in the same way as subordinate legislation. Initially, the management fee will be a total amount equivalent to one per cent of the moneys in the common fund. This should go some way to increasing the financial viability of the Public Trustee. I now present the explanatory memorandum for this Bill.
Debate (on motion by Mr Connolly) adjourned.
RATES AND LAND RENT (RELIEF) (AMENDMENT) BILL 1991
MR DUBY (Minister for Finance and Urban Services) (10.43): I present the Rates and Land Rent (Relief) (Amendment) Bill 1991. I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Mr Speaker, this Bill amends the Land Rent and Rates (Deferment and Remission) Act 1970. The Act provides for the deferment and remission of payments of rates and land rent and includes a rates rebate scheme in part III of the Act. The rebate scheme is administered in respect of general rates by the Commissioner for ACT Revenue and, in respect of water and sewerage rates, by the Chief Executive Officer of ACTEW.
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