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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 02 Hansard (Thursday, 4 March 2004) . . Page.. 737 ..

the results of the current system, and no-one has the courage to say that we should step right back and have a look at the other ways in which we could deal with this. So what we have asked the government to do is model, for example, levelling land tax across all home owners and look at the potential for removing stamp duties and putting that into the land tax. We want to see the modelling done of that so that we can have an informed debate.

One of the recommendations of this committee is that we have an informed debate in the community. Everyone, no matter what political party they come from, has an interest in ensuring that we have reasonable revenue coming in but also that that revenue is raised equitably and is as environmentally responsible as possible. I am hoping that this will allow a depoliticisation of it, although that is probably a big ask just before an election. However, at least if the government did this work it might allow for a more objective conversation about the possibilities.

We also obviously have a section where we deal with environmental tax or the potential for environmental taxes. We have summarised some of the submissions in the report and have asked the government to have another look at this question. We make the comment in the report that one submission claims that over 80 per cent of residents in the ACT are supportive of increased taxes to enhance environmental services, so we know that there is community goodwill and understanding in this regard. I think that is also something that both major parties could work with in an objective way, which would have good outcomes for the environment. Tax can obviously be used as an economic instrument to change how we live on the planet.

I have to say that it is still a great disappointment to me that we lost the opportunity to achieve this in the GST debate in federal parliament. We never really had a big conversation about how we can change the tax system to change the environmental impact of human activities. Anyway, in the ACT we do have the potential to explore this. This is a unanimous report so we hope will see that matter explored further.

MR QUINLAN (12.24): I thank the committee for the work it has done. This is one of the most difficult commissions a committee has undertaken. I extend to its members my sympathy for the task that they had to undertake—to try to identify taxes. I will read it thoroughly and I am sure I will find a few million in there somewhere.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Report 9

MR SMYTH (Leader of the Opposition) (12.24): Mr Speaker, I present the following report:

Public Accounts—Standing Committee—Report 9—Review of Auditor-General’s Report No 9 of 2003—Annual Management Report for the Year Ended 30 June 2003, dated 25 February 2004, together with a copy of the extracts of the relevant minutes of proceedings.

I ask for leave to move a motion that the report be authorised for publication.

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