Land Valuations

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (15:00): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Treasurer, or the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, questions regarding the Valuer-General.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY: In the 2016-17 budget papers, the Valuer-General was provided with $15.4 million over the forward estimates to commence a five-year rolling revaluation program. This five-year program will involve the Valuer-General adjusting valuations for a fifth of the state every year. My questions are:

1. Given section 19(3) of the Valuation of Land Act requires that valuations have to be consistent or relative across the state, how will relativity be ensured if one-fifth of the state is to be valued each year for five years?

2. Does the Marshall government intend to proceed with this ill-conceived project?

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (Treasurer) (15:01): I thank the honourable member for his question. This is an issue that the honourable member has had a long and abiding interest in over a period of time. He has pursued it through budget and finance committees, questions of the former government in this house and by way of personal meetings with ministers and statutory office holders.

I shall refer the honourable member's question in its detail to my ministerial colleague the Hon. Stephan Knoll, who is in the process of taking the responsibilities of the Valuer-General's office from my department, Treasury, in the machinery of government changes. Under the former administration, the Valuer-General's office was attached—if that is the right word—to the Treasury portfolio, but under the machinery of government changes it is being transferred to minister Knoll; therefore, I will refer the honourable member's question there.

Because I have had some involvement and discussion with the honourable member, what I can say, and put on the public record, is that, as the member would probably understand, this five-year plan is supposedly two years in; that is, it was to commence in 2016-17 and we are almost at the end of 2017-18.

The funding of $15 point whatever million that the member quoted was provided by the former government for a five-year plan, and we are supposedly two years into that particular plan. So the prospect of being able to unravel the former government's initiative in relation to this would be a challenge indeed, if that was to be the position of the new government, given that we are two years into the rollout of that particular plan. In terms of the detail, which I am sure the member would prefer rather than my general responses, I shall refer the honourable member's question to the Hon. Stephan Knoll.