Page 1520 - Week 06 - Thursday, 2 July 2020
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important countercyclical response that government must provide in times of crisis. Eroding an important source of revenue in perpetuity is not a real plan.
The ACT entered this crisis with a strong and diversified economy. We had the best employment figures of any jurisdiction in the nation. We will recover from the crisis as we continue our multistage and targeted economic response. Our rate relief is part of that strategy—to provide cash relief to households, to support them when it is most needed.
Mr Coe’s call for a four-year freeze is simply another example of the fact that the Canberra Liberals do not have a long-term plan for the recovery of our city. Back in January Mr Coe said that he was desperate to form a government—not that he was confident or ready but desperate. His call for a four-year rates freeze reflects that. He will say anything that he thinks will help him stumble into government.
I have spent a lot of time over the last few months talking to my constituents and I am very aware that rates are a hot topic for many. However, I reassure residents of Yerrabi that the vast majority of households in my electorate will not see any increase in their rates.
In conclusion, Canberrans should be rightly concerned about the conservative Liberal leader’s reckless rates policy. It will not address the challenge that the ACT economy is facing as a result of bushfires and COVID-19. The question Canberrans are rightly asking is: what will Mr Coe cut to pay for this rates freeze? Will it be the walk-in centres that so many Canberrans in my electorate rely on? Will it be future stages of our popular light rail network? Will he cut sporting facilities, hospital funding, investment in education or salaries for ACT government staff? Or does he plan to follow the federal government’s example and cut public service jobs the second that he can?
In a time of such economic uncertainty why should Canberrans trust the Canberra Liberals to support our community when he will not even tell them how he plans to pay for his desperate promises?
MR COE (Yerrabi—Leader of the Opposition) (3.24): I very much welcome the obvious points of difference that have been established once again today. On one hand, you have the Chief Minister saying that $150 is a rates freeze and then you have Ms Le Couteur pretty much saying that rates in Canberra are not high enough and should go up even more. It begs the question: if she thinks rates should not go down, how could she possibly support the $150 concession this year?
If Ms Le Couteur is here for the vote, it will make a mockery of everything she just said about needing more taxation and not less. The problem is that this is a one-off election hit. We all know what will happen next year and the year after and the year after that if Andrew Barr and ACT Labor are returned for a 20th year, a 21st year, a 22nd year and a 23rd year.
We will happily stand up for the thousands of Canberra families who have had enough, who simply cannot afford the cost of living in the ACT, who are struggling to
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