Page 122 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 22 February 1994
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MINISTER FOR URBAN SERVICES
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY QUESTION
QUESTION NO 1133
Farm Vehicles : Primary Producers Markets
Mr Moore - asked the Minister for Urban Services:
(1) Can the Minister explain why the ACT registration charges for farm vehicles are so
different from NSW.
(2) Will the Minister maintain this discrepancy under a National Registration
Scheme.
(3) Is the Minister aware that there are no primary producers' markets in the
ACT; if so, is the Government intending to subsidise ACT producers so that
they can compete on a level playing field with their NSW counterparts.
Mr Connolly - the answer to the Member's question is as follows:
(1) NSW allows a wide range of concessions for farm use vehicles which form part of
the "primary producer" category in NSW. Concessions for registration charges for
farm use vehicles are not available in the ACT.
(2) Under a National Registration Scheme, the provision of concessions will be at the
discretion of State and Territory governments. The Government has no intention of
reintroducing concessions for farm use vehicles at this time.
(3) In May 1993, a pre-feasibility study was undertaken by the Chief Minister's
Department into the establishment of a wholesale regional producers' market. The
study indicated that:
in its present form there would be little support from major potential purchasers for a producers' market as producers may be unable to maintain a consistent supply of a wide range of produce;
purchasers would incur additional costs by buying at a local producers' market and these are unlikely to be offset by less expensive goods; and
information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that for six selected fruit and vegetable items, the average price in Canberra is already six cents per kilogram lower than in Sydney.
Given all of these factors, the study found it to be unlikely that a regional producers' market would be commercially viable. The Government has no plans to subsidise the development of such a market.
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