Paul Neville (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Fifty-four thousand hea-vy petrol vehicles. From 1 July 2008 that partial credit will be expanded to a full credit for petrol users in eligible primary production areas. Also from 1 July 2008, a 50 per cent credit will apply to all currently ineligible activities, and this will rise to a full credit in 2012. This means that by the time the changes are fully in place, by 1 July 2012, fuel tax will effectively apply only to the private use of fuel in private vehicles and certain off-road uses, the business use of fuel on-road in light vehicles and the business use of fuel in heavy vehicles to the extent of the applicable road user charge.

Extending these rebates will in a practical sense mean that farmers will no longer have to be burdened by paperwork associated with keeping track of how much fuel they use in a range of eligible and ineligible activities. It will see an increase in their credits and a reduction in their office work. So, as well as significantly reducing this record keeping and compliance cost for business, these measures will simplify and reduce the amount of interaction between farmers and other primary producers and the Australian tax office, and I find that one of the great burdens for farmers and other primary producers is the amount of paperwork associated with running a rural or a maritime business. They come off their trawlers or off their tractors dog tired at God only knows what hour of the night and then have to sit down to paperwork. To increase their credits and reduce their paperwork to the extent that we can I think is a good thing. I thank the government for its assistance to our trawler operators along the east coast and I commend this bill to the House.

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