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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2000 Week 2 Hansard (29 February) . . Page.. 393 ..

MR QUINLAN: Our Auditor-General? My heart is not - - -

Mr Humphries: Yes, he agrees with that.

Mr Hird: No, it is not in this speech.

MR QUINLAN: Well, Harold, really, nothing much has happened. I am just sort of playing a bit of a role here, because if the debate has a purpose I do not think the purpose is ever going to be achieved if you think you are going to frighten Kim Beazley or Federal Labor. Personally, I have to say I am not a fan of the GST. I am not as young as I used to be, Harold, and I look forward to not too far distant times and living on a modest pension. Being in a position where I own most of my assets, I am one of the people who are going to pay through the nose. For having made the effort of providing for myself, for having made the effort to set myself up so that I will not be a charge upon the general community in my dotage, I am going to pay the extra 10 per cent on my consumption, but because I will be a relatively low income earner I am not going to get the benefit of the income tax changes.

Mr Hird: Shop at Woolworths and you will be all right.

MR QUINLAN: The income tax changes are going to go to your mates - well, they are not really your mates, but you would like to think they are your mates - at the big end of town. This is an entirely regressive tax. It is a regressive tax because it is going to hit, amongst others, those people who have made the effort to provide for themselves. I do not believe that it is going to create the money that somehow Mr Humphries believes it is going to make, with additional funds coming to the States, income tax cuts for all, and somehow we will all be better off and happy days will be here again. I do not think that is at all possible.

Then we must turn, of course, to the problem of implementation or the compliance cost. As Mr Stanhope pointed out, there is great confusion. There is a nice little parallel here. We have had the Federal Government, the Howard Government, come forward with great fanfare and promise of what the GST will do for us, and then, "Hang on, there are a few details of practicalities". Now, in terms of implementation, in terms of still defining what is to be covered and what is not to be covered, we have a total descent into a shambles. Does that remind you of anyone? It reminds me of the Carnell Liberal Government in the ACT. We start with great promise - - -

At 5.00 pm the debate was interrupted in accordance with standing order 34. The motion for the adjournment of the Assembly having been put and negatived, the debate was resumed.

MR QUINLAN: I was referring to the parallel of the Howard Government coming forward with great promises and fanfare, saying everything will be all right immediately we introduce this. Then we get, "Oh, we have to implement that; there are a few things we did not think of". Now we have a descent into almost a total shambles as it operates - a shambles contributed to by Mr Slipper and Mr Howard.

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