Page 4078 - Week 13 - Thursday, 10 November 1994
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There is another area where this Government in recent times has come to grief. Perhaps it is slowly dawning on the Government that it is pointless making the ACT more costly than surrounding areas in New South Wales. The Chief Minister, to her credit, indicated that the costs for small tour bus operators would be reduced. Seven-seater buses will cost the same to register as seven-seater buses in New South Wales and will not be classed as 60-seater Murrays-type coaches, saving them about $600 a year. However, there are some other areas of concern. I understand that if you have an enclosed ute which you use for a work vehicle - it might be only one tonne; it is basically the same as a car - there is an extra $150 or so to be paid on its registration. That does not apply across the border. Many people are avoiding ACT FID taxes by doing business in New South Wales because it is cheaper there. How many other areas are there where businesses pay less in New South Wales than they do in the ACT? It is only a short hop, step and jump across to Queanbeyan or over to Murrumbateman or Yass. You can run your business there, which is great for those little economies; but it is not crash hot for the ACT. Government needs to ensure that we are in line and competitive with New South Wales.
Madam Speaker, the Liberal Party realises the problems faced by business, especially small business. We realise that red tape is a concern for them and, for that reason, we are establishing, upon attaining government, a red tape task force, with members of the public sector and representatives of business looking at what regulations are necessary and what regulations are duplication or triplication, totally superfluous impediments to business. Getting rid of unnecessary regulations, I think, will be a very good start.
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Stefaniak, your time has expired.
MR LAMONT (Minister for Urban Services, Minister for Housing and Community Services, Minister for Industrial Relations and Minister for Sport) (3.59): Madam Speaker, that was probably one of the more entertaining dissertations it has been my fortunate experience to hear from the other side. I have not had the opportunity to laugh as much about what allegedly has been said with some sincerity for the entire almost three years of this Assembly. It could be because Mr Stefaniak has only just rejoined us. He talked about what the Liberal Party will do upon gaining government. First of all, that will not be occurring, so I suppose that it is an empty threat. However, let us assume that it is not. For a moment, let us live in the Land of Nod. The Liberal Party, says Mr Stefaniak, will set up a task force, which means, quite frankly, that they have not considered the issue up until now. That is very simple. They have had no policy up until now in relation to these issues. I think what they have said this afternoon is a quite clear acknowledgment of that and a rather scathing indictment of the very shallow and superficial way in which they have treated this MPI.
Let me go on, Madam Speaker. When I look at the policies of the Liberal Party - - -
Mrs Carnell: You just said that we did not have any.
MR LAMONT: Mrs Carnell, that is why, as I was about to go on, it took me very little time to review those policies. When Mr Kaine was Chief Minister in the Alliance Government his party and the Alliance managed to butcher most of the business in the ACT. We talked earlier about unemployment figures. It would be interesting to know the unemployment figures that applied during your party's tenure of office,
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