Ms MARTIN - 1999-11-25
Arising from the prices inquiry, he has now got Treasury to monitor prices in Territory centres. He claims this will keep the pressure on Coles and Woolworths to keep prices down. How does he expect the supermarkets to keep prices down when the payroll tax changes announced in the last budget are designed to slug the big end of town, the big employers like Coles and Woolies?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I think the payroll tax issue can be summarised by this simple statement: look at the latest quarterly report from Yellow Pages with regard to the Northern Territory. 48% of proprietors believe that the government’s policies are working for them. This is a massive 61 percentage points higher than the average for state and territory governments. What that says in a nutshell is that this government enjoys the strong support of Territory business and, of course, in that report there would be a consideration of Territory business as to the fairness of imposts placed on them by such things as payroll tax.
I would also say to the Leader of the Opposition that in the Northern Territory, as the Treasurer has pointed out, when one looks at things like payroll tax, one has to look at government charges in their totality. Fire service levies and land taxes are not imposed on small business in the Northern Territory as they are in other states. So it’s another oversimplification to come in here and somehow purport that payroll tax is somehow totally unfair in comparison to other states.
The Leader of the Opposition now has an ex-Treasury employee working for her so he can now frame some questions.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that we are not very fearful. He can now frame some financial-type questions for her which she can easily read. But when it comes to some interrogation from this side of the House, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
Members might remember that one of the first initiatives I took as Chief Minister was to look at our payroll tax system in the Northern Territory and see what we could do to streamline the system and get it more in line with the regimes that are applied generally in other states. It’s certainly my aim as Chief Minister to make the payroll tax application in the Northern Territory competitive with - better if possible, according to the normal budgetary processes – the best existing in the jurisdictions around Australia.
With regard to prices surveillance, the fact that the inquiry was set up in itself has led to a moderating, and in some respects lowering, of prices in the Northern Territory. We believe, therefore, that continued periodic monitoring conducted through Treasury, using assistance from the ABS in terms of the types of items that will be monitored, will continue to assist us in ensuring that all organisations - I wouldn’t point out Coles and Woolworths singularly in that regard - are very well aware that this government is looking all the time on behalf of consumers to ensure that their prices are fair and reasonable considering the circumstances that exist in the Northern Territory.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, I think the payroll tax issue can be summarised by this simple statement: look at the latest quarterly report from Yellow Pages with regard to the Northern Territory. 48% of proprietors believe that the government’s policies are working for them. This is a massive 61 percentage points higher than the average for state and territory governments. What that says in a nutshell is that this government enjoys the strong support of Territory business and, of course, in that report there would be a consideration of Territory business as to the fairness of imposts placed on them by such things as payroll tax.
I would also say to the Leader of the Opposition that in the Northern Territory, as the Treasurer has pointed out, when one looks at things like payroll tax, one has to look at government charges in their totality. Fire service levies and land taxes are not imposed on small business in the Northern Territory as they are in other states. So it’s another oversimplification to come in here and somehow purport that payroll tax is somehow totally unfair in comparison to other states.
The Leader of the Opposition now has an ex-Treasury employee working for her so he can now frame some questions.
Ms Martin interjecting.
Mr BURKE: I can assure the Leader of the Opposition that we are not very fearful. He can now frame some financial-type questions for her which she can easily read. But when it comes to some interrogation from this side of the House, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about.
Members might remember that one of the first initiatives I took as Chief Minister was to look at our payroll tax system in the Northern Territory and see what we could do to streamline the system and get it more in line with the regimes that are applied generally in other states. It’s certainly my aim as Chief Minister to make the payroll tax application in the Northern Territory competitive with - better if possible, according to the normal budgetary processes – the best existing in the jurisdictions around Australia.
With regard to prices surveillance, the fact that the inquiry was set up in itself has led to a moderating, and in some respects lowering, of prices in the Northern Territory. We believe, therefore, that continued periodic monitoring conducted through Treasury, using assistance from the ABS in terms of the types of items that will be monitored, will continue to assist us in ensuring that all organisations - I wouldn’t point out Coles and Woolworths singularly in that regard - are very well aware that this government is looking all the time on behalf of consumers to ensure that their prices are fair and reasonable considering the circumstances that exist in the Northern Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016