Page 95 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 13 February 2018

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improve outcomes for women. But let us also widen the circle to include the experiences of those forgotten women on the underside of the other ceiling, the concrete ceiling.

Discussion concluded.

Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2017 (No 2)

Debate resumed from 26 October 2017, on motion by Mr Barr:

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (5.15): The opposition will be supporting this bill. The bill itself is largely administrative in nature, clarifying and correcting references in legislation or otherwise repealing sections which are no longer relevant. It is worth noting that a number of clauses that are being amended have either been out of date for some time or are unnecessary, given that other legislation has passed and some schemes ended in 2015. We are glad to see that the government has tidied up and clarified the legislation, even if it is a couple of years after the fact.

The opposition recognises that refinements are needed for the barrier-free transaction model on this occasion. The government has advised that declarations of trust and grants of a commercial lease with premium are not registrable or are only optionally registrable with Access Canberra, which therefore makes the current process and model impractical for these transactions. The Canberra Liberals support good administrative practice and hope these amendments will improve the effective execution of these transactions for members of the public, as well as for the public servants and officials who have responsibility for overseeing the barrier-free transaction model.

I wish to put on the record that one of the reasons provided in the bill’s explanatory statement for the inclusion of new section 14A in the Taxation Administration Act 1999 is IT system constraints. The government has identified that some crown leases which cover multiple blocks or sections are sometimes only recorded using a single block or section number. This Assembly has previously touched on the need for improvements to the ACT government’s IT systems, especially where data that ought to have been captured has not been. This appears to be another area where further investigation may be warranted to ensure the government is making full and best use of the software available to it.

In conclusion—I note that it is good timing for the Treasurer, who walks in to follow up and continue debate on this, I expect—the opposition is pleased to support this legislation.

MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (5.17): The Greens also support this legislation. We basically support red tape reduction, provided it does not impact on our key values in areas such as social justice and environmental protection. We are satisfied


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