Ms SACILOTTO - 2008-05-07
Can you outline to the House the reaction to yesterday’s budget?
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin for her question. She was at the Chamber of Commerce lunch yesterday when I was able to present the government’s budget and, also this morning, at the Property Council breakfast. She is absolutely engaged with the business community, as you would expect from the member for Port Darwin.
There has been plenty of positive feedback from the community, particularly in relation to our tax cuts. Graham Kemp from the Territory Construction Association, who is a terrific advocate for his industry and his members, said: ‘It is very good news considering there was stamp duty reform in the 2007 budget’. He went on to say: ‘It will help young investors …’ And: ‘There are wins for everyone across the board’.
At yesterday’s Chamber of Commerce lunch, which the Leader of the Opposition was too busy to attend, the budget received a very positive response. Chris Young, the CEO of the Chamber, has a sound understanding of what drives Territory business and what is required for our economy to continue to grow. Chris pointed out that, while no business likes paying payroll tax, the savings from our cuts would help business. He said: ‘For smaller businesses paying payroll tax, the extra amount really helps’. Ryan O’Hanlon from the Real Estate Institute said the stamp duty cuts would be a boost to industry. Of course, Ryan mentioned that he would like to see stamp duty completely removed, but he did say that the cuts were ‘a wonderful step in the right direction’.
This morning at the Property Council breakfast, their president, Allan Garraway said that the property council ‘has advocated for stamp duty reform and I congratulate the Treasurer on her initiative to reduce stamp duty on property transactions’. Allan went on to say:
Well, we could not agree more. Budget 2008-09 delivers for Territory families and it helps ensure that the Territory does remain the best place to live, work and raise a family. However, as member for Karama, I was particularly pleased to see in the newspaper today that young couple from Karama who said they were wanting to enter the property market, and were looking at the improved HomeNorth scheme. They said the changes would ‘definitely make it easier’.
So, it was not just tax cuts and it was not just in Darwin. The budget has received a positive response from much further afield. Allan Cooney from the Aboriginal horticulture company, Centrefarm, said he was pleased with the budget commitment to build a $4m access road at Pine Hill. He said the project:
I will finish up on the reaction to the budget with 8HA in Alice Springs. I did some media there today and they were rating the budget as a seven out of 10.
ANSWER
Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Port Darwin for her question. She was at the Chamber of Commerce lunch yesterday when I was able to present the government’s budget and, also this morning, at the Property Council breakfast. She is absolutely engaged with the business community, as you would expect from the member for Port Darwin.
There has been plenty of positive feedback from the community, particularly in relation to our tax cuts. Graham Kemp from the Territory Construction Association, who is a terrific advocate for his industry and his members, said: ‘It is very good news considering there was stamp duty reform in the 2007 budget’. He went on to say: ‘It will help young investors …’ And: ‘There are wins for everyone across the board’.
At yesterday’s Chamber of Commerce lunch, which the Leader of the Opposition was too busy to attend, the budget received a very positive response. Chris Young, the CEO of the Chamber, has a sound understanding of what drives Territory business and what is required for our economy to continue to grow. Chris pointed out that, while no business likes paying payroll tax, the savings from our cuts would help business. He said: ‘For smaller businesses paying payroll tax, the extra amount really helps’. Ryan O’Hanlon from the Real Estate Institute said the stamp duty cuts would be a boost to industry. Of course, Ryan mentioned that he would like to see stamp duty completely removed, but he did say that the cuts were ‘a wonderful step in the right direction’.
This morning at the Property Council breakfast, their president, Allan Garraway said that the property council ‘has advocated for stamp duty reform and I congratulate the Treasurer on her initiative to reduce stamp duty on property transactions’. Allan went on to say:
- Growing and retaining our population in the longer term requires the sustained focus on employment growth and continued effort to ensure that the Northern Territory is a great place to live, raise and educate your family.
Well, we could not agree more. Budget 2008-09 delivers for Territory families and it helps ensure that the Territory does remain the best place to live, work and raise a family. However, as member for Karama, I was particularly pleased to see in the newspaper today that young couple from Karama who said they were wanting to enter the property market, and were looking at the improved HomeNorth scheme. They said the changes would ‘definitely make it easier’.
So, it was not just tax cuts and it was not just in Darwin. The budget has received a positive response from much further afield. Allan Cooney from the Aboriginal horticulture company, Centrefarm, said he was pleased with the budget commitment to build a $4m access road at Pine Hill. He said the project:
- … means the same thing to Pine Hill will be as it does to the other horticultural blocks that are off the Stuart Highway. It actually gives access to the highway which is not currently available.
I will finish up on the reaction to the budget with 8HA in Alice Springs. I did some media there today and they were rating the budget as a seven out of 10.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016