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EMERGENCY SERVICES FUNDING (VALIDATION OF LEVY ON VEHICLES AND VESSELS) BILL

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY (Deputy Premier) obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to validate certain administrative acts and payments and to make related amendments to the Emergency Services Funding Act 1998. Read a first time.

The Hon. K.O. FOLEY: I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading explanation inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

TAKE IN H:\2READEXP\ESFVOLOV.DOC

emergency services funding (validation of levy on vehicles and vessels bill 2003 The Emergency Services Funding (Validation of Levy on Vehicles and Vessels) Bill 2003 addresses a number of urgent matters.

The Bill will validate ESL collections on motor vehicles and vessels in respect of the financial years 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04; enable the collection of ESL on motor vehicles and vessels for the remainder of the 2003-04 financial year including on addition­al premium class codes proposed to be intro­duced for Compulsory Third Party insurance from 1 January 2004; and allow ESL amounts on motor vehicles and vessels in place at the com­mencement of a financial year to have ongoing appli­cation to vehicles that shift from an existing premium class code to a new premium class code part way through a financial year.

ESL rates applying to motor vehicles and vessels are set by notice in the Gazette al­though remissions provided by means of Regula­tions under the Emergency Services Fund­ing Act 1998 reduce the effective levy payable by motor vehicle and vessel owners. The effective levy rate payable by most motor vehicle owners is $24 comprising a gazet­ted rate of $32 offset by an $8 remis­sion which the Con­solidated Account funds.

Gazetted ESL rates have remained un­changed since 1999-2000 when the ESL was introduced. The level of remis­sions has also remained unchanged since their introduction in 2000-01.

Although ESL rates on motor vehicles and vessels have re­mained unchanged, the Emer­gency Services Funding Act 1998 requires a notice to be published before the com­mence­ment of the financial year or financial years in relation to which the notice applies. The notice must speci­fy the ESL payable for each CTP class of motor vehicle.

The original notice published on 2 June 1999 had applica­tion only for financial years 1999-2000 and 2000-2001.

A new notice should have been published before the 2001-02 year but was not. Nor has a notice been gazetted for any subse­quent year.

As a result of this administrative oversight, ESL on motor vehicles and vessels has been collected invalidly from the 2001-02 finan­cial year to date.

The Emergency Services Funding (Validation of Levy on Vehicles and Vessels) Bill 2003 will rectify the invalid collection of ESL since 1 July 2001 and provide the Government with the power to collect ESL on motor vehicles and vessels for the re­mainder of the 2003-04 financial year.

The Emergency Services Funding Act 1998 is also being amended to clarify that in the event of premium class code chan­ges being introduced part way through a financial year the ESL applicable to vehicles transferring from an existing to a new premium class code will have ongoing application.

This will enable ESL to be collected, at existing rates, on new compulsory third party (CTP) premium classes that will be intro­duced as part of a CTP dual premium structure proposed for introduction from 1 January 2004.

At the time CTP premiums were last adjusted, it was flagged that a dual premium structure differentiating be­tween vehicles used for commercial or private purposes was likely to be imple­mented by 1 January 2004. This follows the expiry on 30 June 2003 of transi­tional arrange­ments that had applied to the GST treatment of CTP insur­ance.

Vehicles that shift to a new premium class will continue to be eligible for an ESL remission at existing rates. The Emergency Services Funding (Remissions- Motor Vehicles and Vessels) Regulations 2000 will be varied to make it clear that this is the case. I commend the Bill to members.

Explanation of Clauses

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Interpretation

This clause provides definitions of a number of terms used in the measure. A reference in the meas­ure to "the Act" is (unless the contrary intention appears) a refer­ence to the Emergency Services Funding Act 1998. Levy means the emergency ser­vices levy under Part 3 Division 2 of the Emergen­cy Services Funding Act 1998. A reference in the meas­ure to a notice is a refer­ence to the notice published in the Gazette on 2 June 1999 by which the amount of the levy under Part 3 Division 2 of the Act was declared by the Governor. Relevant financial years are the 2001/2002, 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 finan­cial years.

3—Validation of certain administrative acts and pay­ments

This clause provides that the notice (despite its terms and despite any provision of the Act) applies in all respects, and will be taken to have always so applied, in relation to the 2001/2002, 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 financial years. The notice applies, and is taken to have always done so, as if those financial years were speci­fied in the notice as finan­cial years to which the notice applies.

Anything done or omitted to be done prior to the com­mencement of section 3 in or with respect to the decla­ra­tion under section 24 of the Act of the amount of the levy, or the collection and payment of the levy, is, to the extent of any invalidity that would arise but for section 3, to be taken to have been validly done or omitted to be done, as the case may require.

Schedule 1—Related amendment

Clause 2 of Schedule 1 amends section 24 of the Emergen­cy Services Funding Act 1998. Under section 24, the Governor may, by notice in the Gazette, declare the amount of the levy payable under Part 3 Division 2 of the Act. Subsection (2) provides, among other matters, that the notice must divide motor vehicles into the same classes as the Premium Class Code published by the Motor Accident Commission and must specify the amount of the levy in respect of each class.

This amendment to section 24 clarifies that the classes into which motor vehicles are divided under subsection (2)(a) are the same classes as the Premium Class Code as in force at the time of publication of the notice. The amount of the levy as specified in the notice in respect of a particu­lar class will be the amount of the levy for the financial year or years to which the notice applies. A change in motor vehicle classifications under the Premium Class Code during the course of that financial year or years will have no effect on the amount of the levy payable for that year or years.

The Hon. M.R. BUCKBY secured the adjournment of the debate.