Page 148 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 12 February 2020
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to activate these particular arrangements. They are in place now. My first contact was in January. It has taken a couple of weeks for the commonwealth to agree and for a joint statement to be released. That agreement came through late last night, and a statement was issued at 6 am today.
The ACT government has longstanding arrangements in place for tax deferrals and payment plans in special cases. We do not need to establish a new scheme; it already exists. For any small business that has suffered a significant economic loss as a result of the recent disasters, access to these arrangements can be made on a case-by-case basis. Every circumstance will be different in relation to local business impact.
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I point out that, as well as not having to pay any tax on their insurance products in the ACT, all small and most medium-sized businesses in the ACT are also exempt from payroll tax already. They simply do not pay it because they do not meet the $2 million annual payroll tax threshold in the ACT. That is the most generous threshold in the nation.
We currently have $3.4 million in active tourism campaigns underway or about to commence. That is 17 times what is being proposed by the opposition. We have that already announced and already underway. We are working collaboratively with Tourism Australia to maximise the available financial assistance on the destination marketing campaigns. That will work through a matched funding amount between VisitCanberra and Tourism Australia. That has already been committed. I launched that campaign several weeks ago. It has been extensively reported in the local media. Members might have seen some additional reporting of that when Nick Kyrgios was involved in it. Out of the goodness of his heart, he provided an endorsement for free. We did not have to go and pay him to do that. We launched the “holiday here” campaign in January. Through VisitCanberra, we are working with the Canberra Convention Bureau to attract new business events to the territory this year.
This morning I can announce that we will allocate an additional $16.4 million over the next four years to support the tourism, events and hospitality sectors through the budget update. That will be supported through Canberra’s major venues and events. It supports a range of new events over the next four years and also supports existing events and organisations. We will continue our work with industry and partners, including local businesses, national institutions, airlines and accommodation providers, to identify new opportunities to boost both domestic and international tourism to Canberra.
This morning Minister Littleproud and I announced that disaster recovery assistance has been activated by the commonwealth government. Eligible small businesses, primary producers and non-profit organisations who have suffered direct damage or significant loss of income as a result of the bushfires, smoke and reduced air quality will be able to apply for commonwealth financial support. Businesses who would like to inquire about eligibility and access to these arrangements can contact Access Canberra to register their details. The assistance is being provided through a jointly funded commonwealth-territory disaster recovery funding arrangements model, DRFA. Further information on disaster assistance can be found on the Australian government’s disaster assistance website.
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