Emergency Services Volunteers

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (14:18): My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer consider offering CFS, ambulance and CSS volunteers exemptions from paying the emergency services levy. With your leave, sir, and the leave of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr McBRIDE: It is becoming increasingly difficult to encourage people in the regional areas to volunteer. My office has been contacted by constituents who believe that offering a concession to those who contribute to the community would serve as an incentive to boost the numbers of volunteers.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee—Treasurer, Minister for Defence and Space Industries, Minister for Police) (14:18): Can I thank the member for MacKillop for his question, because this is a question that gets raised from time to time. Of course, this year, I think, is the 25^th birthday of the Liberal Party's emergency services levy that they introduced here in South Australia. This is a tax conceived, designed and introduced by those opposite.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond, and the member the Unley will come to order!

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis: GST and ESL.

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: It was controversial then and it remains, to some people, controversial now. Of course—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond can leave the chamber until the end of question time. The member for Florey, you are getting close to your final warning.

The honourable member for Hammond having withdrawn from the chamber:

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Of course, what sits behind the member for MacKillop and his question is the important recognition of the extraordinary work that those South Australians who contribute to our emergency services response provide to their communities, and sometimes also to communities outside of South Australia when the need arises. Of course, with the weather coming in on the Queensland and New South Wales coasts we may well see one of those circumstances again.

Mr Speaker, as you might be aware, the emergency services levy was introduced to replace the old fire services levy regime on comprehensive and third party property vehicle insurance, building and contents insurance policies, and crop insurance. Of course, as we know, now it is levied on fixed property as well as mobile property, usually motor vehicles.

While I am advised that at the time there was consideration given—and there has been periodic consideration over the last 25 years—about whether there should be some recognition through the regime of the ESL about how to recognise the contribution that those South Australians make to our emergency services who are volunteers, some of the challenges that have remained unresolved over the last quarter of a century with that include defining who would constitute an emergency service volunteer for the purposes of a concession; what concession, for example, might be made available to a volunteer who did not own property, and how they would receive a benefit as a result; and what concession would be made available, for example, if there were multiple volunteers in the one household, in the one item of fixed property?

What we have ensured is that the revenue which is generated by the emergency services levy is hypothecated into providing funding for emergency services. While no-one likes any increase in any bill from year to year, it is important to note that all of that revenue from the fixed and mobile property goes directly into the facilities and the services, the equipment and the staffing that is necessary in order for our emergency service organisations, their staff, and the volunteers that support them to continue protecting the state.