Mr HATTON - 2000-06-13
All members would be aware of the changes in Australia’s new taxation system that will result when the Commonwealth’s new taxes come into force on 1 July. Can the Treasurer inform honourable members of the Territory government’s position in respect to grants it provides to community groups and the goods and services tax, and of particular interest to me is are grants being provided to sporting and recreational organisations. Are they subject to GST and would adjustments be made accordingly?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Territory government is extremely proud of both the amount of money that it provides through grants to community groups and organisations, and most importantly the services that flow to Territorians. The honourable member for Nightcliff indicated the enormous amount of benefit Territorians gain from our sporting and recreation grants, and they have contributed to the improvement of facilities right across the Northern Territory, and to the availability of those facilities to Territorians. Our kids and other sporting interest groups are able to pursue sports in what could arguably be said to be the best sporting facilities in the country. Indeed, that remark is often made by new arrivals to the Northern Territory and by interstate sporting groups who are very surprised that we have a high standard of sporting infrastructure in places like Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and certainly here in Darwin and other parts of the Northern Territory. And it is our grants programs that facilitate that.
There are grants to the arts. The minister for health and community services’ grants total something in the order of $67m. They go to more than 400 organisations across the Northern Territory which provide excellent quality services to Territorians on a daily basis. That again, is something we can be very proud of. It is an amount that has grown considerably in recent years as the government has taken advantage of those service providers and, through the grants program, facilitated and improved the level of service for all of us to experience.
It has been somewhat sad that these hard working organisations have been very much concerned because of comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in recent months and the scare mongering that she has spread throughout the community, right across the Northern Territory, suggesting to the recipients of grants that they are going to be disadvantaged because of the new tax arrangements that come into place on 1 July.
Notwithstanding that I have consistently and regularly responded through the media to try and hose down those nonsensical remarks she has been making, creating concern unnecessarily amongst hard working Territorians who strive to provide good services to the people of the Northern Territory, she has continued with those irresponsible remarks, and created a great deal of concern quite unnecessarily in those recipient organisations. I can confirm today, having received advice from the Commonwealth which was not here in time for inclusion in the budget, that no sporting group, no recipient of grants, be it in the arts or health or community services, sport, recreation or other grant recipients who receive funding from the Northern Territory government, will be disadvantaged. Their grants will be grossed up and ...
Ms Martin: By how much?
Mr REED: I am answering the question and I will get to that because this government, unlike the opposition who has been creating unnecessary concern throughout those agencies and suggesting that they will have to start cutting their operations or sacking people because they will not have the same level of funding after 1 July, will not operate in an irresponsible way like that. It is a clear indication of the scaremongering and the irresponsible actions the Opposition Leader has been pursuing over recent months that she has taken up that option.
From the point of view of the topping up of the grants, it will be by 10% to those organisations and they will not be disadvantaged. The Commonwealth is strongly encouraging community groups to obtain an ABN to ensure they comply with the new tax system and organisations will find life much simpler if they have an ABN. I would encourage them to take up that advice. It is a great shame that the Opposition Leader did not decide to be helpful and advise those organisations and businesses with whom she comes in contact that there are ways that they can prepare themselves for the new tax system to be introduced on 1 July, to get an ABN, to be prepared for the new arrangements rather than going out there and scaring them unnecessarily, creating havoc amongst the community. She could just try, once, to be productive, to be of assistance and to provide some guidance as what she perceives to be her position as an alternative chief minister. I think that would be better appreciated by the broader community than the scaremongering that she has been undertaking.
But we will be grossing up those grants by the full 10% and I can give an assurance that those organisations which receive Territory grants will not be disadvantaged. The Leader of the Opposition has again been wrong and from that point of view they can relax and just continue to take with a grain of salt any of her utterances into the future.
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the Territory government is extremely proud of both the amount of money that it provides through grants to community groups and organisations, and most importantly the services that flow to Territorians. The honourable member for Nightcliff indicated the enormous amount of benefit Territorians gain from our sporting and recreation grants, and they have contributed to the improvement of facilities right across the Northern Territory, and to the availability of those facilities to Territorians. Our kids and other sporting interest groups are able to pursue sports in what could arguably be said to be the best sporting facilities in the country. Indeed, that remark is often made by new arrivals to the Northern Territory and by interstate sporting groups who are very surprised that we have a high standard of sporting infrastructure in places like Alice Springs, Tennant Creek, Katherine and certainly here in Darwin and other parts of the Northern Territory. And it is our grants programs that facilitate that.
There are grants to the arts. The minister for health and community services’ grants total something in the order of $67m. They go to more than 400 organisations across the Northern Territory which provide excellent quality services to Territorians on a daily basis. That again, is something we can be very proud of. It is an amount that has grown considerably in recent years as the government has taken advantage of those service providers and, through the grants program, facilitated and improved the level of service for all of us to experience.
It has been somewhat sad that these hard working organisations have been very much concerned because of comments made by the Leader of the Opposition in recent months and the scare mongering that she has spread throughout the community, right across the Northern Territory, suggesting to the recipients of grants that they are going to be disadvantaged because of the new tax arrangements that come into place on 1 July.
Notwithstanding that I have consistently and regularly responded through the media to try and hose down those nonsensical remarks she has been making, creating concern unnecessarily amongst hard working Territorians who strive to provide good services to the people of the Northern Territory, she has continued with those irresponsible remarks, and created a great deal of concern quite unnecessarily in those recipient organisations. I can confirm today, having received advice from the Commonwealth which was not here in time for inclusion in the budget, that no sporting group, no recipient of grants, be it in the arts or health or community services, sport, recreation or other grant recipients who receive funding from the Northern Territory government, will be disadvantaged. Their grants will be grossed up and ...
Ms Martin: By how much?
Mr REED: I am answering the question and I will get to that because this government, unlike the opposition who has been creating unnecessary concern throughout those agencies and suggesting that they will have to start cutting their operations or sacking people because they will not have the same level of funding after 1 July, will not operate in an irresponsible way like that. It is a clear indication of the scaremongering and the irresponsible actions the Opposition Leader has been pursuing over recent months that she has taken up that option.
From the point of view of the topping up of the grants, it will be by 10% to those organisations and they will not be disadvantaged. The Commonwealth is strongly encouraging community groups to obtain an ABN to ensure they comply with the new tax system and organisations will find life much simpler if they have an ABN. I would encourage them to take up that advice. It is a great shame that the Opposition Leader did not decide to be helpful and advise those organisations and businesses with whom she comes in contact that there are ways that they can prepare themselves for the new tax system to be introduced on 1 July, to get an ABN, to be prepared for the new arrangements rather than going out there and scaring them unnecessarily, creating havoc amongst the community. She could just try, once, to be productive, to be of assistance and to provide some guidance as what she perceives to be her position as an alternative chief minister. I think that would be better appreciated by the broader community than the scaremongering that she has been undertaking.
But we will be grossing up those grants by the full 10% and I can give an assurance that those organisations which receive Territory grants will not be disadvantaged. The Leader of the Opposition has again been wrong and from that point of view they can relax and just continue to take with a grain of salt any of her utterances into the future.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016