Mr BAILEY - 1995-05-23
The Treasurer announced last week that, in the 1995-96 budget, he expected to raise $3.5m from the new fire service levy. In Budget Paper No 3, the Treasurer said that this would equate to $29 per man, woman and child in the Northern Territory. The Treasurer's office has been trying to tell the people of the Territory that this means $80 per family. Will the Treasurer concede that, even if there are no rebates or exclusions, $29 per capita amounts to approximately $125 for the average Territory family?
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the opposition has started at the wrong end in regard to this. The question of the fire service levy, how it will be collected, to whom it will apply and how much will result from its collection cannot be calculated by using simple arithmetic and dividing by 3.5 the numbers of people living in RL1 households.
Mr Stirling: This is a great tax! You do not even know how you will collect it!
Mr Bailey: How much will it be?
Page 574
Mr COULTER: Members opposite would do well to do a little research and examine the taxes that are imposed in every other jurisdiction in Australia, except the ACT, and how they are collected ...
Mr Ede: Insurance.
Mr COULTER: In the case of insurance, we do not think that that is the way to go about it because ...
Mr Ede: Because it is progressive.
Mr COULTER: It penalises those people who do insure and who insure heavily. They pay the fire service levy while those who do not insure receive the service for free. What has happened in the Northern Territory over a number of years ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: Did anybody wonder why the RAAF shut down the fire service facility it had on base? It was shut down because the RAAF could not see any sense in having a fire service if the Territory government was supplying one also and, 9 times out of 10, our service was attending its housefires anyway. The RAAF derived some big savings from that and, because there was no fire service levy in the Northern Territory, it got off scot-free. That is not fair.
Mr Bailey: Will the Housing Commission pay or will the residents, or will ...
Mr COULTER: We have said that we do not intend to bring this levy in until 1 January. A number of options are available to the government for its collection. Also, the fire risks involved have to be assessed, as they are in Queensland. We have included a $1.5m ladder in our budget. That ladder is used for fires in buildings over 9 stories high or whatever it is, therefore those buildings ...
Mr Bailey: Will they pay more?
Mr COULTER: They should, don't you think?
Mr Bailey: If I have smoke detectors, will I pay less?
Mr COULTER: No, answer the first question. Don't you think they should?
Mr Ede: Who?
Mr Bailey: The people who live in high-rise buildings.
Mr Hatton interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You will never get a decision out of him. I gave him a wonderful opportunity to say no or yes for the first time in his life, but he has remained silent.
Page 575
There is a great deal of work to be done on this yet.
Mr Bailey: Will the Housing Commission be ...
Mr COULTER: I can tell you that it will not be $120 per household, as you have been saying.
Mr Ede: It is more!
Mr Bailey: It is more for some and less for others.
Mr COULTER: That is the answer to your question, so stop saying it. You are wrong.
Page 576
ANSWER
Mr Speaker, the opposition has started at the wrong end in regard to this. The question of the fire service levy, how it will be collected, to whom it will apply and how much will result from its collection cannot be calculated by using simple arithmetic and dividing by 3.5 the numbers of people living in RL1 households.
Mr Stirling: This is a great tax! You do not even know how you will collect it!
Mr Bailey: How much will it be?
Page 574
Mr COULTER: Members opposite would do well to do a little research and examine the taxes that are imposed in every other jurisdiction in Australia, except the ACT, and how they are collected ...
Mr Ede: Insurance.
Mr COULTER: In the case of insurance, we do not think that that is the way to go about it because ...
Mr Ede: Because it is progressive.
Mr COULTER: It penalises those people who do insure and who insure heavily. They pay the fire service levy while those who do not insure receive the service for free. What has happened in the Northern Territory over a number of years ...
Members interjecting.
Mr COULTER: Did anybody wonder why the RAAF shut down the fire service facility it had on base? It was shut down because the RAAF could not see any sense in having a fire service if the Territory government was supplying one also and, 9 times out of 10, our service was attending its housefires anyway. The RAAF derived some big savings from that and, because there was no fire service levy in the Northern Territory, it got off scot-free. That is not fair.
Mr Bailey: Will the Housing Commission pay or will the residents, or will ...
Mr COULTER: We have said that we do not intend to bring this levy in until 1 January. A number of options are available to the government for its collection. Also, the fire risks involved have to be assessed, as they are in Queensland. We have included a $1.5m ladder in our budget. That ladder is used for fires in buildings over 9 stories high or whatever it is, therefore those buildings ...
Mr Bailey: Will they pay more?
Mr COULTER: They should, don't you think?
Mr Bailey: If I have smoke detectors, will I pay less?
Mr COULTER: No, answer the first question. Don't you think they should?
Mr Ede: Who?
Mr Bailey: The people who live in high-rise buildings.
Mr Hatton interjecting.
Mr COULTER: You will never get a decision out of him. I gave him a wonderful opportunity to say no or yes for the first time in his life, but he has remained silent.
Page 575
There is a great deal of work to be done on this yet.
Mr Bailey: Will the Housing Commission be ...
Mr COULTER: I can tell you that it will not be $120 per household, as you have been saying.
Mr Ede: It is more!
Mr Bailey: It is more for some and less for others.
Mr COULTER: That is the answer to your question, so stop saying it. You are wrong.
Page 576
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016