Page 2238 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 9 May 2012
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I respect Mr Ted Quinlan. I served in this place alongside him. I have known Mr Ted Quinlan for a number of years, including those when he and I were involved in the not-for-profit community sector together. As I said, I have known this man for a long time. However, I cannot agree with his additional recommendation to introduce poker machines into the casino. We absolutely should not be putting poker machines in the Canberra casino. Governments on both sides have not agreed to this proposal over the course of a number of decades. As we know, clubs play a very important role in our community and integral to that is the community gaming model. To put poker machines in the casino would undermine this gaming model that has served our community well.
Madam Assistant Speaker, I think you would agree the Quinlan review is an important contribution to our public debate. It is detailed, it is comprehensive, it is informative and it makes for very interesting reading, deserving of our careful consideration. It points the way towards structural, sustainable taxation reform that will provide for our community into the future. I call on all members in this place to support the motion and the review.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (3.13): In some ways how predictable is it that the government drops a report and Ms Porter has a motion concerning that report just days later. But we welcome this debate today on the Quinlan tax review. It is still early days. It is not a very clever strategy by Mr Barr to release the Quinlan tax review the day before the federal budget, or perhaps he thought it was because he really did not want it to be considered for a long and major time. Releasing it on Monday restricts time for proper analysis and consideration. I do not believe it is an appropriate way for such a major report to be handled, particularly as the report had been sat on for almost five months.
That said, I believe the report contains a wealth of information. I will certainly consider it closely and form considered views over the next few weeks. After all, Mr Barr has had this report for five months and has said that it sets the scene for 20 years of reform. As he was in no hurry to release it, we will take our time to consider our position.
I was quite surprised that the chair of the panel who prepared this report was not present at the release of the Quinlan tax review. Indeed, the action on Monday this week was perhaps not about the release of the Quinlan tax review at all; it was more about the release of the government’s response to the Quinlan report. That really does question Mr Barr’s priorities. One can only assume that the current Treasurer was so unhappy with the performance of the former Treasurer, particularly in making his recommendations about putting gaming machines in the casino and about reviewing the taxation of gaming machines, that he did not include him in the release of the report. It is disappointing that the Treasurer can be so petty, seeking to bask in his own glory, rather than promulgating the proposals in the Quinlan tax review.
I think the motion itself also is disappointing. It is a typical dirge from Ms Porter and a very pedestrian motion. Indeed, we are calling on the government to undertake structural reform to improve the fairness, simplicity and economic efficiency of the
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