Page 3439 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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On that point, I agree with those members of the opposition. On the scare tactics that are clearly underlying every single question in question time, I reject them.
MR PARTON: Minister, will you guarantee that no community organisations will be worse off given that the new community contributions tax will eat in to the above eight per cent community funding that most clubs make?
MR RAMSAY: I guarantee that clubs are still able to make contributions above the eight per cent.
Clubs—community contributions
MR WALL: Madam Speaker, my question is to the Minister for Regulatory Services. Minister, I refer to the latest announced changes to the community contributions scheme, where you have flagged that an additional one per cent of net gaming revenue for clubs with funds raised will go towards the Chief Minister’s charitable fund. Given your recent backflip, as reported this morning, will you guarantee and give certainty to the clubs that you will not revisit the issue of changing the existing eight per cent model?
MR RAMSAY: I note that there is again an inaccuracy in the preamble to the question, which talks about a one per cent increase. As I answered earlier in question time today—I am not sure if Mr Wall was listening to the questions or simply guiding through—the amount of the increase has not yet been determined; nor has the percentage within any increase that would go to the Chief Minister’s charitable fund. What we will continue to do is make sure that there is a benefit—
Mr Coe: Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order. Mr Wall’s question was explicitly about the first eight per cent, not about the additional percentage or amount. While Mr Ramsay might want to give the same answer as he has given to other questions, the question is: will the eight per cent remain in place? I ask that he be directly relevant.
MADAM SPEAKER: Minister, you have a minute left to go to that point of the question.
MR RAMSAY: I can guarantee, as we have announced today, that the eight per cent amount will remain. That is the government’s policy. It is obviously not something that this government can ever bind any future government to. For the time of this government I can guarantee that that eight per cent will remain.
MR WALL: Minister, can you now guarantee to clubs and community organisations across the ACT that there will be no change to the existing eight per cent community contribution and any proposal is now off the table?
MR RAMSAY: Noting that within the eight per cent, as I have answered in the previous question—again I am not sure if Mr Wall was listening—we were paying attention to the in-kind and the definition of what is a community contribution, it is very clear that we are looking at that at the moment. That was also in the
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