Taxes and Charges

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (14:40): A supplementary, sir: given the Treasurer's comments, does he agree with the Victorian businessman who employs South Australians in South Australia, who says, 'I pay payroll tax in four states. The South Australian RevNet system is without doubt the most awkward, the most complex of all the systems in Australia we deal with. They're hopeless and they're always falling over'?

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader will withdraw, under the sessional order, for half an hour.

The honourable member for Dunstan having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:41): He is our best asset, sir. Running RevNet and RISTEC is a lot more complicated than a cash register at Wokinabox—

The Hon. P. Caica interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Colton is called to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It is a very complicated system. I accept that there are problems with RevNet. However, Mr Speaker, I will tell you what competitive advantage we have over Victoria: Victorians are charged conveyance duty on commercial business properties. As of 1 July next year we will have cut, by one-third, our conveyance duty on business and commercial properties, a competitive advantage that the Victorian government will not give its citizens. The following year we are going to halve it and the year after that it will be abolished altogether. So business people in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia will be at a disadvantage compared to businesses here in South Australia.

While the opposition focuses on accounting measures within an internal process of computer programs, we are out there cutting taxes. We are out there getting out of the way of business, helping them to go out and compete, and giving them competitive advantages that members opposite never even imagined at the last election campaign. All they talked about were tax cuts for the richest South Australians. Not once did they talk about tax cuts to ordinary South Australian small businesses.

The SPEAKER: The Treasurer is now debating the question.