Page 2723 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 20 October 1992
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Tuesday, 20 October 1992
________________________
MADAM SPEAKER (Ms McRae) took the chair at 2.30 pm and read the prayer.
PAPER
MR HUMPHRIES: Madam Speaker, I seek leave to present a petition from interstate petitioners.
Leave granted.
MR HUMPHRIES: Thank you, Madam Speaker and members. I present a petition from 717 interstate residents, requesting that the Assembly prohibit the availability of all X-rated material and the possession of child pornography.
QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Liquor Tax
MR KAINE: I would like to direct a question to the Treasurer. In light of the High Court ruling on the legitimacy of the X-rated video excise, does the Treasurer see any need to revise the tax arrangements for liquor to provide for collection in arrears rather than in advance?
MS FOLLETT: I thank Mr Kaine for the question. It is a very interesting one, and one which, I have to say, is not yet fully resolved, Madam Speaker. The Full Bench of the High Court have ruled that under section 90 of the Constitution the ACT Legislative Assembly is precluded from imposing duties of excise. It is a very specific ruling that they have made. There will be further very close and detailed examination of that decision, but on the face of it at least it does appear to place both the ACT and the Northern Territory on the same basis as the other States in relation to revenue raising.
I would like to say for a start that this decision does not invalidate any ACT revenue laws. The court needs now to consider whether particular taxes are indeed excises. The one that is under scrutiny is the Business Franchise ("X" Videos) Act. The next part of the High Court's consideration is whether that franchise is actually an excise. The X video scheme is a regulatory scheme which is similar to tobacco and liquor taxing regimes, and it incorporates all of the features of those franchise arrangements. So, there are similarities, and I am sure that Mr Kaine is aware of those.
Madam Speaker, the High Court in the 1989 Philip Morris case decided that tobacco and liquor franchise schemes operating in Victoria were not excise duties. I think that is relevant because the ACT tobacco licensing scheme closely follows that Victorian scheme. The ACT's petroleum franchise scheme mirrors that of tobacco, and there have been no challenges to petroleum franchise schemes
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