❓ Opposition asks about revenue from increased fees/charges and public sector restructure costs. Treasurer avoids direct answers, deflects by comparing to previous government's record, and claims data is unavailable.
AnsweredQoN 171Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
STATE TAXES AND CHARGES, INCREASES
Given that the Government has been unable or unwilling to answer simple questions on financial matters in this House on Tuesday and Wednesday, can the Treasurer please finally advise the House - (1) What is the approximate revenue to be raised in the coming financial year from the increased fees and charges announced yesterday? (2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER
Given that the Government has been unable or unwilling to answer simple questions on financial matters in this House on Tuesday and Wednesday, can the Treasurer please finally advise the House - (1) What is the approximate revenue to be raised in the coming financial year from the increased fees and charges announced yesterday? (2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER
AnswerView source ↗
(1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(1) What is the approximate revenue to be raised in the coming financial year from the increased fees and charges announced yesterday? (2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(1) What is the approximate revenue to be raised in the coming financial year from the increased fees and charges announced yesterday? (2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(2) What is the approximate cost to the taxpayer of the Government’s public sector restructure, including, and in particular, the budget for redundancy payments? Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Mr RIPPER replied: (1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(1) I can tell the Leader of the Opposition one thing, and that is that the revenue to be raised from the increased fees and charges this year is a lot less than the additional revenue raised in previous years. I will give the Leader of the Opposition a history lesson. How much does he think fees and charges impacted on the average family during 1993-94? They cost the average family $122.82. What about in 1994-95? They cost $129.79. I will refer to 2000-01. Let us look at what the Opposition did last year when in government as that is the direct comparison: it cost the average family $149.27 as compared with this Government’s adjusted impact of $38.47. The Leader of the Opposition asked me yesterday about the additional revenue. I want to make it very clear that the fees are fees for service. The reason that there is an annual increase - and this Government is following the same policy guidelines as the previous Government, although it is taking extra care with the impact on families - is because costs for agencies increase. The fees and charges do not provide additional revenue to be spent on other projects. They provide money for the cost of the services to which they apply. I have asked the Treasury for advice. The list of fees and charges within government is as thick as a telephone book; there are hundreds of different fees. The advice from Treasury is that the question cannot be answered. Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Several members interjected. Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Mr RIPPER: It is interesting that the former Premier and Treasurer never provided an answer on this point and the reason is that the advice from Treasury is, as there are so many of these fees and imponderables, an answer on the total amount of revenue cannot be provided. It is almost irrelevant, as the implication of the question is that it is revenue that is somehow available for another purpose. It is not; it is revenue that is available to meet the cost of providing the service for which the fee is charged. The cost for agencies to provide services goes up every year. There is a policy that governs the level of increases. Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
Several members interjected. (2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
(2) The second question was about the Machinery of Government Taskforce changes. The Government is applying a priority dividend to the public sector to shift money to higher priority projects and to require agencies to engage in a more efficient use of resources. The Government is also applying what is called an assurance dividend to give it extra money to deal with the budget situation it has inherited. Those efficiency measures will pay for the election commitments, including the machinery of government exercises.
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