Page 4542 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 31 October 2018
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MR PARTON (Brindabella) (12.27): We will be supporting the amendments. Even though it changes the shape of this motion, I accept that the place-naming process is somewhat more complex than most of us believed it to be. I hope that Ms Cody will also come to that conclusion before the debate on her placenames motion, foreshadowed to be the next motion; but I digress.
I suggest that the vast difference between the two motions that I mention is the overwhelming public support for one of them. I have had overwhelming public support for the renaming of the bridge.
I do not necessarily absolutely accept the advice from the Place Names Committee that that option should be off the table. I hope that it will be reconsidered but I am most pleased that there is a process that is ongoing. I also trust that, if the decision is made to not go down this path, the Place Names Committee will arrive upon a substantial tribute to Val Jeffery.
It is always refreshing when we in this chamber can broadly agree on a matter that is up for debate. My thanks to the Place Names Committee, to the Jeffery family, to the Tharwa community and to the wider Tuggeranong community, who feel engaged in this matter. My thanks also to Mr Gentleman and his staff for their assistance on this matter.
Amendments agreed to.
Original question, as amended, resolved in the affirmative.
Sitting suspended from 12.29 to 2.30 pm.
Questions without notice
Taxation—commercial property rates
MR COE: My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, I refer to an opinion piece by David Rolfe, the dealer principal of Slaven Mazda, published in the CityNews of 11 October. The rates bill for that site on Melrose Drive in Phillip increased by $100,000 in the 2017-18 financial year. This year it has increased by a further $107,000. Why are car dealers in Phillip expected to absorb increases like this when they are constrained by manufacturers’ pricing edicts and juggling increased costs in wages, rents, electricity and other factors?
MR BARR: There are obviously some factors in relation to the value of land in that particular precinct. Clearly there have been increases in the value of that land over time. It is not inconsistent with what we have seen in other parts of Canberra. As demand for particular pieces of land grows stronger, there are a range of alternative uses. For example, motor vehicle dealerships do find that the land they sit on has greater value over time as cities develop. That is not uncommon here in Canberra, as it is not uncommon in other parts of Australia or indeed around the world.
In relation to those specific blocks, I will seek some further advice from the Revenue Office as to whether there have been any specific factors that relate to those blocks,
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